Laklinyeri Beach House

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS (14:32): My question is directed to the Minister for Health and Wellbeing. Will the minister update the council on support for South Australian families in the public health system?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:32): I thank the honourable member for his question. The Australian health system is one of the best in the world, and we are lucky to be able to rely on a high level of health care right across the nation. The system is large and complex, but in amongst the busyness, it is good to stop and remind ourselves what it is all there for. The health system is there to deliver the day-to-day miracles of Australians helping Australians—health professionals, volunteers, philanthropists working together and having an impact on people needing health care.

Recently, I was privileged to see the real difference being made to the lives of South Australian families at the opening of the Women's and Children's Hospital Foundation Laklinyeri Beach House. The beach house is a respite care home for families whose children have complex medical needs, providing an otherwise almost impossible opportunity for these families to get away from the significant stress of frequent medical care.

Laklinyeri is the name developed in conjunction with the elders of the Ngarrindjeri traditional owners and means a sense of connectedness to the extended family, a place and the life in that place. Visitors to the house will find medical equipment and disability support tools and resources as well as meals, carers, nursing care if needed and medical assistance—and of course just the benefits of a holiday and a time away.

The beach house is an amazing partnership between the Women's and Children's Hospital Foundation and generous private enterprise partners. It grew from an idea first imagined by Sara Fleming, a palliative care nurse at Women's and Children's Hospital, and developed collaboratively with a group of families known as the founding families, families whose children had received palliative care through the Women's and Children's palliative care service.

This collaboration has been a hallmark of the project. The house itself was co-designed by the founding families, working alongside private sector partners, to ensure that it was actually fit for purpose, including in terms of the supply of medical equipment. The partners in particular deserve thanks and congratulations. Bella Build and Design built the home and raised more than $1 million towards the cost of the build. They were joined in the work by contributions by Greenway Architects and the landscapers Coastal Landscapes and Fencing. The contribution made by these three private partners was very generous and lifted the facility to what is an extraordinary oasis with all the support ill children and their families might need.

The facility is designed to sleep 12 and includes such support as a hoist to carry a child from the bedroom to the bathroom, and a movable wall between the master bedroom and the larger child's bedroom. There were a range of other contributors to the project, such as the Sam Roberts Family Fund, the Thyne Reid Foundation, the Golden Angels, the Van Diemen Foundation, Ian Wall AM and Pamela Wall OAM, and the CMV Group Foundation.

The first families have already had a chance to spend a holiday at the beach house, including one 10-year-old girl who was able to have a sleepover with her best friend for the first time in her life. This is an excellent example of the support given to families facing the challenges of complex and ongoing medical care.

I congratulate the Women's and Children's Hospital Foundation for coordinating this process and bringing together families and private partners to bring the beach house into reality. The beach house was opened by His Excellency the Governor. A recurring thought at the opening was that this beach house is a gift from the people of South Australia. On behalf of the sick children and their families who will enjoy this gift for years, I thank all of those who made this wonderful gift possible.