Southern Hospital Services

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS (14:48): My question is directed to the Minister for Health and Wellbeing.

The Hon. C.M. Scriven: He won't know. It's not his responsibility. Ask the board.

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS: He has forgotten more than you will ever know.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Can the opposition benches give it a rest?

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS: Will the minister update the council on actions the government is taking to support health services in Adelaide's south?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:48): I thank the honourable member for his question. Over many years now, we have seen increasing demand for health services in Adelaide's south. For example, the Flinders Medical Centre has seen a 15 per cent increase in presentations at its emergency department, I understand, in the last five years.

The Hon. I.K. Hunter interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Hunter, don't try me. Just let the minister answer the question.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: My understanding is that the hospital ED reached its design capacity about seven years ago.

The Hon. I.K. Hunter interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Hunter, please express your outrage a little bit more quietly. Minister.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: The Hon. Mr Hunter asks me, 'What did Labor do about that?' Let me tell you what Labor did about that. About seven years ago it reached capacity, so what has Labor done to the Flinders Medical Centre ED in those seven years? They thought they would close the acute referral unit at the Repatriation General Hospital. It is not a full emergency department but a very important service, valued by the veterans and other patients of that facility.

That added additional pressure onto an emergency department which had already reached its design capacity. What did Labor do next? Well, they thought, 'Why don't we downgrade the Noarlunga Hospital and the ED so that we can put more pressure onto Flinders Medical Centre?' It was not only, to be frank, the Flinders Medical Centre and its emergency department but also the ambulance service that needed to transfer people from the Noarlunga Hospital to FMC.

So what else did Labor think they could do to the Flinders Medical Centre ED? 'Oh, I know, let's close the nearest hospital. Let's close the Repatriation General Hospital,' with a net loss of about 100 beds, I am told.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. S.G. WADE: The Hon. Terry Stephens is trying to distract me by reminding me about Labor's promise to never ever close the Repat, which is exactly—exactly—what they did.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. S.G. WADE: Well, actually, the Hon. Ian Hunter reminds me of Labor's record on ramping. One of his former colleagues says this in his book about the Flinders Medical Centre ED and ramping. He says, and I quote:

A regular topic of my media interviews during my last few years—

let me underscore that: 'during my last few years'—

as health minister was the concern about ambulance turnaround times, especially at the Flinders Medical Centre.

So what the Hon. Robert Hill is telling us there is that Labor introduced ramping to South Australia. The honourable member was the minister for health up until January 2013. The last few years would be, funnily enough, the same time that the ED at Flinders went over its design capacity—went over its design capacity. And Labor decided they would make it worse by downgrading Noarlunga, closing the Repat—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS: Point of order: I don't know about anybody else; I would like to hear the minister and I can't hear the minister because of the noise coming from across there.

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Hunter, please restrain yourself. Other members wish to listen to the minister. Minister, you have the call.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: So the then Labor minister, when the—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Hunter!

The Hon. S.G. WADE: —during the period that the—

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS: Point of order.

The PRESIDENT: Yes, the Hon. Mr Dawkins.

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS: Point of order, Mr President: the Hon. Mr Hunter doesn't seem to listen to you at all. I would like to listen to the minister—

The Hon. I.K. Hunter: They like my voice, John.

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS: Well, it would be better if it was softer.

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Hunter, please, we are getting to the point now where it's becoming tiresome. Minister.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: As the Hon. Robert Hill advises us, a regular topic—

The Hon. J.S.L. Dawkins: John Hill.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: John Hill—sorry. That will be a defamation action in spite of the protection of privilege. The Hon. John Hill was the minister for health up until 2013. He is saying in the last few years of his time as minister ramping emerged, particularly at the Flinders Medical Centre. I must admit, John Hill did do one thing about ambulance ramping at the Flinders Medical Centre: he commissioned a review.

In 2012, we had the Monaghan review, which was an external review on ambulance ramping. In spite of that, his government and those that followed, both Rann and Weatherill governments, continued to kick the south. They closed the key referral unit at the Repat, they downgraded Noarlunga, they closed the Repatriation General Hospital, which they said they would never ever close. So faced—

The Hon. I.K. Hunter interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Hunter, please, I would like to hear the minister; please.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: So faced with an appalling legacy of Labor in the degradation of human services, we have invested $85.7 million over four years. We are investing in the Flinders Medical Centre, which has not been redeveloped by the former Labor government since 2010. The Labor Party brought ramping to South Australia. The Marshall Liberal government is determined to eliminate it.

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Pangallo.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Please show some respect to the Hon. Mr Pangallo.