Hospital Staff Numbers

The Hon. I. PNEVMATIKOS (15:05): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Minister for Health and Wellbeing regarding job cuts.

Leave granted.

The Hon. I. PNEVMATIKOS: The minister was asked on ABC 891 radio last Friday:

…if doctors and nurses accept a voluntary separation package, there will be a net reduction of doctors and nurses working in those three hospitals. Yes?

The minister replied:

That particular position will be abolished…

The minister was further asked:

Can you guarantee that there will be no fewer doctors and nurses at those three hospitals at the end of this process?

To which the minister replied:

Well no I can’t…

My question to the minister is: does the health minister stand by his comments that front-line doctor and nurse positions will be abolished as part of the process announced last week and that he cannot guarantee that there will not be fewer nurses and doctors?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (15:07): I thank the honourable member for her question. Doctor and nurse numbers go up and down from year to year—to be frank, more up than down, because our population continues to grow, the complexity of people's health issues become more complex.

The South Australian government supports the Women's and Children's Hospital and the Central Adelaide Local Health looking at their workforce, making sure that that they have the right workforce that aligns with their models of care going forward. This is, I would stress, a voluntary separation process. This is a voluntary, non-binding process. Staff have the opportunity to lodge an expression of interest. The government supports the local health networks in their process of making sure that they have contemporary models of care and a workforce to match.