COVID-19 Hospital Response

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS (15:22): My question is to the Minister for Health and Wellbeing. Will the minister update the house on the readiness of the South Australian health system should COVID-19 enter the state?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (15:22): I thank the honourable member for his question.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. S.G. WADE: I thank the honourable member for his question.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! The minister hasn't even started. Order!

The Hon. S.G. WADE: The Marshall Liberal government is ensuring that South Australia is COVID ready. In particular, we are expanding our hospital capacity as an important part of making sure—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. S.G. WADE: —activating hundreds of extra beds and deploying hundreds of extra health professionals. Hospital bed capacity has been increased across—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! The Hon. Ms Bourke! The Hon. Mr Wortley! Order! I'm not sure that the Labor Party has a question remaining, but it's certainly not going to get one today.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: Thank you, Mr President.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order, the Hon. Mr Wortley!

The Hon. R.P. Wortley: It wasn't me.

The PRESIDENT: Order! It was you.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: It's like trying to teach a puppy self—

The PRESIDENT: Order! You are not being helpful. Continue with your answer.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: As I was saying perhaps in the last paragraph that was drowned out by disorderly behaviour, hospital bed capacity is being increased across South Australia with a mix of new beds in the public, private and community settings. In total, we are providing for an additional 392 beds in the South Australian health system.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order, the Leader of the Opposition!

The Hon. S.G. WADE: For those who need to have pictures—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order, the Hon. Mr Hanson!

The Hon. S.G. WADE: For those honourable members opposite who have trouble with numbers, let me put that in pictorial terms. Imagine a Modbury Hospital. No, it's not one of them; it's two of them—392 beds is the equivalent of two Modbury Hospitals. It's an exciting expansion of the health system to make sure that South Australia is COVID ready.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order, the Hon. Mr Hanson!

The Hon. S.G. WADE: Let me outline the mix because I am particularly excited about the mix. We have 140 beds in public hospitals. Forty-six of those will actually be in the Modbury Hospital, the hospital that the former Labor government downgraded under its disastrous Transforming Health experiment, another 16 in Gawler and six dementia beds at the Repat hospital. That reminds me, the former Labor government wanted to close the Repat and sell it off. Thank God we stopped them because it is at times like these we need the capacity of the Repat. This government is building on that as part of its 392-bed investment.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Hanson!

The Hon. S.G. WADE: And then we are partnering, as we have right through our term, with the private sector. There are another 73 beds in partnership with the private sector but this is the part that really excites me: the out of hospital community beds. There are 68 beds providing hospital-level care in the home, particularly for older South Australians—

The Hon. J.E. Hanson interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Hanson will remain silent.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: —because it is in areas such as geriatric care and palliative care, care which should often be delivered in the community but so often is being delivered in hospital. In the COVID environment, we are taking the opportunity not only to ease the pressure on the hospital system but to deliver world-class hospital care more consistent with the wishes of the patients.

Another stream, there are another 37 beds supporting older South Australians in their aged-care journey. These are transition care beds, care awaiting placement beds, dementia virtual support beds. It is another example of providing and taking the opportunity to expand innovative quality care. Those 10 dementia support beds are working with people in the nursing home so they get the hospital care they need without being transferred to a hospital, which in itself creates risk.

In terms of people with disability, another 52 beds are helping people on the disability journey; thirty beds at the Repat (again, the hospital that the former government wanted to sell off), 30 beds providing people with transitional accommodation beds. Major investments and enablers—Flinders Medical Centre, Lyell McEwin, Women's and Children's Hospital—all benefiting from multimillion dollar investments to make sure that they have air conditioning upgrades that make them COVID ready.

As I have mentioned briefly in passing, I think earlier today, we are employing up to 1,920 additional staff, bolstering the health workforce as we move into the COVID environment in terms of reopening our borders.

The PRESIDENT: The minister will bring his answer to a conclusion.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: Thank you for your guidance, so perhaps I will save that general wisdom for the next opportunity.