Legislative Council Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1) 54 1 Parliament of South Australia Legislative Council published Question Time Modbury Hospital Modbury Hospital The Hon. I. PNEVMATIKOS Legislative Council Modbury Hospital The Hon. I. PNEVMATIKOS (14:48): My question is to the Minister for Health and Wellbeing. Will the minister advise whether he is still committed to delivering the high dependency unit at the Modbury Hospital, and if so, on what date will the works commence? The Hon. S.G. WADE Legislative Council Minister for Health and Wellbeing Modbury Hospital The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:48): I thank the honourable member for giving me the opportunity to reassure the council and for the people of the north-east that the Marshall Liberal government is committed to the delivery of the high dependency unit at Modbury Hospital. That stands in stark contrast to the position of the Labor Party. Since the election they have continually cast doubt on this decision. The Northern Adelaide Local Health Network has established a clinical working group to develop a plan to establish the high dependency unit, and that is important, not just to try to reduce the number of transfers to the Lyell McEwin Hospital, but it is also important to support the delivery of low to medium complexity surgery on the site. This government is very proud of the fact that we have restored up to 72-hour care on the site. That means that patients will be able to receive care closer to home, it will ease the pressure on the Lyell McEwin Hospital and it will help drive down elective surgery waits. The clinical working group that is developing this plan is chaired by Professor Andrew Burston and Alison Hodak. It has met a number of times and is developing a model of care. The government has also been to the Public Works Committee and presented our plans for the Modbury redevelopment, which include a high dependency unit. We will continue to work with the NALHN team, both at the Lyell McEwin site and the Modbury site, to make sure that we deliver high-quality care to the people of the north-east. We believe that a key to that is the delivery on our commitment to a high dependency unit. That's why it was fully funded in the first Marshall Liberal budget. The President Legislative Council The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Ms Pnevmatikos, a supplementary?