Mental Health Patients

The Hon. T.T. NGO (15:24): My question is to the Minister for Health and Wellbeing. Will the minister explain why the number of mental health clients waiting over 24 hours in emergency departments in the central Adelaide network has gone from 7 per cent in 2017 to 24 per cent in 2019?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (15:25): My recollection is that this question is remarkably similar to a question that was asked of me in our most recent sitting, so perhaps I might answer this a different way. Let me give you the figures. The percentage of mental health ED presentations who waited longer than 24 hours, that is the parameter I understand Mr Ngo is referring to. My understanding is he quoted a figure of 7 per cent. The advice I have is that in 2017 the percentage of mental health ED presentations who waited longer than 24 hours was in fact 14 per cent. That compared with 2016 being 25 per cent and 2018 being 26 per cent.

Now, if I'm correct, the honourable member has understated the 2017 figure by half and conveniently ignored the year prior and the year post. In terms of the latest advice I have in relation to 2019, which would be a number of weeks old now, it was at 31 per cent. That is unacceptably high, but it is certainly not dissimilar to the 25 and 26 per cent that have been experienced in recent years.

Let me take the opportunity to remind the house of some of the initiatives that the Marshall Liberal government has taken to deal with unacceptably long waits in emergency departments for people with mental health issues. First and foremost, we opened the Royal Adelaide Hospital psychiatric intensive care unit, which the former Labor government built at the Royal Adelaide Hospital but failed to open before we came to government. One of the other initiatives we took in our first year was that we delivered on a commitment to open a Lyell McEwin short stay unit. The former Labor government shut it abruptly at the end of 2017, if my recollection serves me correctly, and was not intending to open it for some time.

Midyear this year we opened 10 more forensic mental health beds at Glenside, and we have initiated a court diversion program, which fundamentally assists, providing for mental health clients who have contact with the justice system to be diverted from EDs and more restrictive care. It gives them much better care options.

Certainly, the waits in emergency departments are unacceptable for both people with mental health issues and people with other issues, but I believe that this government is giving priority to mental health and will continue to give priority to mental health.