Question Time

Cleve District Hospital and Aged Care

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Leader of the Opposition) (14:38): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Health and Wellbeing a question regarding health care.

Leave granted.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER:The Advertiser reported yesterday on the sad death of Mr Jeffrey Beaton, a former resident at the Cleve District Hospital and Aged Care facility. It has been reported that he was reported missing from Cleve District Hospital and Aged Care at around 9.30pm on 2 October and discovered severely dehydrated eight days later on a property several kilometres east of the town. Sadly, a day later Mr Beaton passed away.

A Cleve local has been reported as saying, 'Residents are free to come and go as they please,' and, 'The facilities are unsecured and not designed to manage dementia patients,' and, 'The next closest facilities are in Elliston, some 200 kilometres away, which residents, as you can imagine, are upset by.' My questions to the minister are:

1. What briefings has the minister sought and obtained regarding the disappearance and now death of Mr Beaton?

2. What precautions are in place at Cleve District Hospital and Aged Care to prevent residents going missing?

3. Has the minister received any briefings previously about concerns regarding staffing or clinical care at the Cleve service?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:39): I thank the honourable member for his question and certainly my thoughts are with the family of the deceased person. The resident absconded from Crestview Hostel on Saturday 2 October, I am advised, at 22:30. The staff immediately searched the area surrounding the hostel and then reported the incident to SA Police.

An extensive search was conducted by SAPOL, the SES and the CFS and occurred across 3 and 4 October, which included the use of a SAPOL helicopter. The search was scaled back by SAPOL on 5 October. The resident was located on 10 October by a local landowner and transported to Cleve hospital for treatment, which included MedSTAR review and advice.

Crestview Hostel is not a secure facility and the resident was not under a SACAT section 32 restrictive practices and special powers order, but I am advised that all external doors are locked or have number coded keypads for resident and staff safety. Residents are provided with the key if they have been risk assessed, but I am advised that the resident in this case did not have the code.

There is one external door to the secured back garden that is left unlocked throughout the day to enable the residents to freely wander into the garden. The garden is fenced and has three gates that are locked by way of number coded keypads.