Question Time

Ambulance Ramping

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Leader of the Opposition) (14:22): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Minister for Health and Wellbeing regarding ramping.

Leave granted.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: On Monday, figures provided by the minister's chief executive confirmed that South Australia had accumulated 21,043 hours of ramping between January and September this year. This compares to a figure of 3,111 for the same period in 2017. That represents an increase under this minister's watch of 576 per cent—not double, not triple but almost a sixfold increase. My questions to the minister are:

1. Why has ramping increased 576 per cent under you and your government's watch?

2. Will you apologise to the ambulance officers who are here today and in the greater South Australian community, and the wider community in general, for your government's failures to address ramping?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:23): The honourable member referred to comments made by my chief executive in the Budget and Finance Committee last Monday. What he did not go on to say was that the chief executive also indicated that, in recent weeks, there has been a significant improvement in ambulance transfer of care times. We look forward to that—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! I would like to hear the minister's answer, and I can't do that at the moment.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: The reality is that the big difference between 2017 and 2021 is that in 2017 there was not a pandemic and in 2021 there is. There is significant transfer of care delays right around Australia. In Western Australia, the ambulance operator, St John's, publishes data, which shows that—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. K.J. Maher interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order, the Leader of the Opposition!

The Hon. S.G. WADE: —Western Australia's transfer of care delays have been escalating significantly more greatly than South Australia. The common experience of Australian jurisdictions in the context of the pandemic has been taken up at both health ministers' level and at national cabinet level. At the local level, we are pleased with some reforms that have been agreed with the Ambulance Employees Association.

I know the Treasurer is looking forward to further discussions in the context of the EB, but also in terms of resourcing. It is the Marshall Liberal government which has increased the SAAS budget by over 31 per cent since the last budget; it's now a budget of more than $300 million. One of the—

The Hon. I.K. Hunter: And it still hasn't solved the problem of record ramping. You are not addressing the issues of ramping.

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Hunter!

The Hon. K.J. Maher interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. S.G. WADE: One of the key roles that the Ambulance Service is playing within the broader health system is being a key enabler of strategic reforms. For example, in the southern area, the Ambulance Service is a partner with the Southern Adelaide Local Health Network to implement the care program, which sees ambulance officers working with geriatricians at a Repat-based unit to provide an alternative care pathway for people who need radiology and geriatric care and assessment before they return home and continue their recovery.

We are continuing to look at ways to improve patient flow, particularly through NDIS and aged-care discharges. We are looking at ways of continuing to improve flow in the emergency departments. We have invested more than $100 million in improving emergency departments. We have expanded the ambulance workforce by 74 in the most recent budget, which builds on a continuing growth in the ambulance workforce under this government. We will continue to work with the Ambulance Service to deliver the health needs of South Australians—

The Hon. I.K. Hunter: And month on month, the figures get worse. It hasn't happened overnight. Every month since you came to government.

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Hunter will remain silent!

The Hon. S.G. WADE: —and I take the opportunity to pay tribute to the professional skill of the paramedics and ambulances of this state and their dedication to deliver top quality care.