Inquiry into Palliative Care Bill

Second Reading

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (23:08): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I rise to support this bill. The aim of the bill is to ensure that South Australians have a world-class palliative care system, the reason being people need to have a real choice in how they wish to be cared for at the end of their lives. The bill directs the South Australian Health Performance Council to undertake an inquiry into the South Australian palliative care system and to make recommendations on how it can be improved so we can better ensure that all South Australians have equitable access to palliative care.

Equitable access refers both to access geographically and financially. Both of those things are impediments to people accessing palliative care and both of them need to be looked at and overcome. In terms of the inquiry, the Joint Committee on End of Life Choices—with the member for Light, who moved this in the other place, being a member of that committee—made a number of findings in relation to palliative care. Based on submissions from professionals in the field, there were a number of consistent themes that emerged. Quoting from the report, the recommendations stated:

1. Palliative care is a critical part of our health and wellbeing system although it requires a greater level of funding to ensure that it provides more consistent and equitable access.

2. Any improvements to the Palliative Care system should design services that are appropriate and accessible for people in regional areas, Aboriginal people and those for whom English is not a primary language.

3. A key focus of Palliative Care should be on the dignity of people who are approaching the end of life.

4. There is a general need to improve data collection and reporting on palliative care—including the experiences of patients, their families and loved ones, clinicians and carers.

The bill proposes that the Health Performance Council should undertake the review, and that is based on feedback received by the member for Light. He also consulted with the Health Performance Council to ensure that they were (1) able and (2) willing to undertake such an inquiry.

The Health Performance Council has indicated to the member for Light that the inquiry could be undertaken and could be done in the time frame that was suggested: probably around about 12 months to complete. The functions of the Health Performance Council are consistent with being able to undertake that kind of an inquiry.

We know that the voluntary assisted dying legislation has passed and will come into effect perhaps in 12 or maybe 18 months' time. Whilst we all had different opinions on that legislation, one thing that I think was universally agreed was that people need to have a choice. We can only have a choice if we have both palliative care and voluntary assisted dying as two of the options. If palliative care is not accessible, if palliative care is not available, it is not a choice. People do not have choices if they are merely theoretical. This is relevant for everyone but particularly in regional areas, and of course being from a regional area this is a particular concern for me.

The bill has come to us in amended form, with the government having made changes, which means that the investigation or the inquiry would probably not be completed and presented to parliament until the end of 2024 and therefore would not be considered by parliament until 2025. This is unacceptable and inappropriate, and I will certainly talk about that more when we come to the committee stage.

I will move an amendment to remove that so that the inquiry can be done straight away, that it will be completed in 12 months and therefore provide an appropriate benchmark and appropriately inform both this place and the other place, and indeed our state, on the state of palliative care, what the gaps are and what needs to be done.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. N.J. Centofanti.