Royal Adelaide Hospital Sleep Service

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (14:28): My question is to the Minister for Health and Wellbeing. Will the minister advise whether the Central Adelaide Local Health Network will proceed with a sleep service at the RAH as was agreed with clinicians before the election, and, if so, when?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:28): Agreed with clinicians before the election? This is a party that built a Royal Adelaide Hospital which did not even have inpatient sleep facilities. They had an outpatient facilities space that was reduced by 60 per cent. Well, I am sorry, you can't cut a service—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. S.G. WADE: You are the guys who cut the space. You cut 60 per cent out of the outpatient space at the Royal Adelaide and you expect people to work efficiently. You guys left the Chest Clinic at the other end of North Terrace and expected people with cystic fibrosis—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Minister, there is a point of order from the Hon. Mr Hunter.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: The honourable minister on his feet is hysterically accusing you of making all of these cuts. He should be addressing himself to you, sir, and not to the gallery, and he should be addressing his remarks in a more parliamentary manner.

The PRESIDENT: Perhaps, minister, refrain from using the term 'you guys', and refer to the opposition benches as such.

The Hon. R.I. Lucas: 'The discredited former Labor government'—would that be alright?

The PRESIDENT: Yes, 'former Labor government' is okay.

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway: What about 'worst government this century'?

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Ridgway, do not push it so far. The President is not amused. Minister.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: I would simply say that the cystic fibrosis patients, who found that their services were stranded at the east end of North Terrace, were far more hysterical than I have ever been, because they felt betrayed. They were told by the former Labor government—I think Jack Snelling did it just before the 2014 election: the promise was that every service in the old RAH would be provided in the new RAH. What a lie! How can you cut outpatient services by 60 per cent and maintain services? That is why the Chest Clinic was stranded at the east end of North Terrace, and it was only on 10 December this year—

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN: Point of order.

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Ms Scriven, a point of order. Minister, just sit down, there is a point of order, please.

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN: The point of order is in regard to relevance: we were talking about sleep services rather than chests or cystic fibrosis.

The PRESIDENT: The minister has some leeway. I assume he will get to those services in a minute.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: Let us go directly to those services. Labor built the new Royal Adelaide Hospital with no space for sleep labs. That was a service that was at the old RAH. What was Snelling's promise? That all services at the old RAH would be at the new RAH. It was not true. The plans had already been drafted. You cannot tell me that in 2014 he did not have the plans drafted for the new Royal Adelaide Hospital, and there was no space for sleep labs.

This is what the government was confronted with: 60 per cent less space for outpatient services, the Chest Clinic stranded at the East End and no room for sleep labs. And what do we get from Labor? Carping, carping, carping! I am sorry, it was not me who left out the sleep labs, it was your team—sorry, the former Labor government, a disgraced former Labor government. Labor built a hospital, they built out sleep services. It is no time for this party to preach—

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: Point of order.

The Hon. S.G. Wade: I've finished my answer.

The PRESIDENT: He's finished his answer, so there is no point of order.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: My point of order was going to be that we have all tried to heed your advice, sir, to keep answers short and not be as hysterical as we sometimes are.

The PRESIDENT: That is not a sensible point of order. The Hon. Ms Scriven, do you have a supplementary?