Pathology Services

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Leader of the Opposition) (14:57): My questions are to the Minister for Health regarding pathology. How does the minister reconcile his comments about not having the time or inclination to answer correspondence from a private company with the minister's previous comments about the need for public and private health providers to join forces and work together? I note a 4 May press release from the minister to that effect.

Secondly, has the minister in fact yet responded to Clinpath's email or is he ignoring this and potentially other correspondence of offers to help during this pandemic? Finally, having had time now to reflect, will the minister now apologise for his intemperate remarks directed at a private health company attempting to help with testing during this pandemic?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:57): I thank the honourable member for his question.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Minister for Health and Wellbeing, please answer the question when the Leader of the Opposition is finished. Are you finished, Leader of the Opposition?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: Yes.

The PRESIDENT: Okay, thank you. Minister.

The Hon. K.J. Maher interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Well, he doesn't need any help. Minister for Health and Wellbeing.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: I would like to thank the honourable member for his question. I think perhaps the simplest way for me to respond to the honourable member's question is to read my letter to Dr Whitehead:

The Marshall Liberal government has demonstrated its commitment to the best health outcomes for South Australians and its willingness to marshal all the resources of the state to that end, including during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As we move from the containment phase to the suppression phase, we are keen to engage the private pathology sector in relation to how it can contribute to the pandemic response in South Australia—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! Let the minister complete his answer. Order!

The Hon. S.G. WADE: The letter continues:

—in particular, how it could strengthen our capacity to test for COVID-19, trace cases and contacts and respond rapidly to outbreaks.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Leader of the Opposition, listen.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: It continues:

To plan and coordinate the surveillance effort, the Department for Health and Wellbeing has established—

The Hon. E.S. Bourke: Did you just realise you have a fundraising event tomorrow?

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Ms Bourke!

The Hon. S.G. WADE: Sorry, Mr President, I just want a chance to give an answer.

The PRESIDENT: Minister, just take a seat. The Hon. Ms Bourke, the honourable Leader of the Opposition, the minister is on his feet. He is answering the question. If you have a supplementary question, we may consider that. Minister, please continue.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: It continues:

To plan and coordinate the surveillance effort, the Department for Health and Wellbeing has established a COVID-19 Surveillance Committee. The committee is being chaired by the Chief Public Health Officer, Professor Nicola Spurrier.

Public and private pathology services will be engaged through a consultative forum. To facilitate competitive neutrality, no provider will be represented on the Committee.

I look forward to collaboration across the pathology services of the State to support South Australia's response to the global pandemic and maximise the health and wellbeing of South Australians.

That's the end of the quote from the letter.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: Point of order, Mr President: will the minister table the document from which he is reading now?

The Hon. S.G. WADE: Mr President, I would have thought that that request could wait till the end of my answer.

The PRESIDENT: I think you are right.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: It's hardly a point of order to ask for a document to be tabled.

The PRESIDENT: No, it's not a point of order.

An honourable member: He's got no manners.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: It's not that he's got no manners; he's got no idea of how the house works.

The PRESIDENT: Order! Just continue with your answer, and then—

The Hon. K.J. Maher interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! Please, complete your answer.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. S.G. WADE: That letter—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Minister, take a seat. The minister will complete his answer. If you wish to request him to table a document, you can do so when he has finished his answer. We will listen in silence to the rest of his answer. Minister.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: That letter is completely consistent with our approach since day one of government. We have said—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. S.G. WADE: Mr President, could I please have the opportunity to answer the question.

The PRESIDENT: Order!

An honourable member interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Do you want to hear the answer or not? Minister.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: From day one of this government we said that we would use public and private resources completely focused on delivering the best health outcomes for South Australians. Let's think of a couple of examples that we have done. We have established a Patient Services Panel, which allows us to buy—my latest recollection is 13 private hospitals were signed up for that panel so that we could buy private hospital services for public patients. Then, when the COVID-19 pandemic came, we were more than happy to be part of a national approach to engaging private hospitals in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Let's be clear, every Labor government in Australia signed up for that deal.

This is a government that has demonstrated that we are more than willing to be partners with the private sector in delivering the best possible outcomes for public patients. In the context of COVID-19 and pathology services, we will be doing the same again. But the reality is that the largest pathology service in South Australia is SA Pathology. At the start of the pandemic, not even SA Pathology had the capacity to COVID-19 test. They very rapidly got that capacity. They ramped it up to a world-leading testing regime.

As the pandemic progresses, I am sure there will be opportunities to partner with the private sector, but whether it is the Patient Services Panel, whether it is the private hospital agreement with the commonwealth, or whether it is pathology services, this government's laser focus will be on delivering the best outcomes for South Australian patients and taxpayers.