Home Hospital Plan

The Hon. F. PANGALLO (15:08): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Minister for Health and Wellbeing, the Hon. Stephen Wade, about the Home Hospital plan.

Leave granted.

The Hon. F. PANGALLO: The minister was on radio today and in this chamber speaking in glowing terms about the government initiative to try to free up hospital beds. Under the plan, patients would be monitored and given acute care in their homes, but what responsibility do hospitals take when they make a decision to discharge patients almost immediately after having major heart surgery and it goes tragically wrong?

In the case of Mr Paul Errigo, he went into the Lyell McEwin Hospital as a private patient last Tuesday to have stents inserted. Mr Errigo's family tell me that, while he was being operated on, Mr Errigo suffered cardiac arrest and had to be revived. Two days later, doctors decided to give Mr Errigo another three stents. Despite family and Mr Errigo wanting to be kept in hospital and monitored because of the seriousness of his condition, the hospital decided he was well enough to go home on the next day, the Friday.

Yesterday morning, Mr Errigo was found dead in his bed, the result of a cardiac arrest as he slept. His family now want answers. My question to the minister is: does he find it acceptable that a still critical patient, who only days earlier had to be revived, was sent home almost immediately after undergoing major life-threatening surgery without any proper monitoring equipment? Will he now order an urgent investigation into the treatment and discharge of Mr Errigo? Why should the public have confidence in his Home Hospital plan, and what assurance can he give that patients with serious medical conditions are not discharged prematurely and against the wishes of family members and patients?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (15:11): I thank the honourable member for his question. It won't surprise the chamber that, in the circumstances of the case he mentions, it's my expectation that that would be the subject of an inquiry not only by SA Health but also by the Coroner, in the circumstances as I understand them. In those circumstances it wouldn't be appropriate for me to comment. In relation to the duty of health services, of course health services have an obligation to ensure the safety of the patients, and that includes considering all factors in making discharge decisions.

I should just clarify that the Home Hospital project is not so much for the discharge of an acute patient who is, shall we say, part way through their care journey but more at either the pre-hospital stage or at the ED stage. For example, in the Geriatrics in the Home program in Modbury Hospital people are assessed by the geriatric consult team, and once their care needs have been identified the decision will be made as to whether to admit them to the hospital or to admit them to the Geriatrics in the Home program, where they can receive the relevant treatment at home.

Whether SA Health is delivering services in a hospital or in the community, of course it has obligations to ensure quality and safety, and that will be integral to the design and implementation of the Home Hospital program.