Ministerial Statement

Legislative Review Committee: SA Ambulance Service Resourcing

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector, Special Minister of State) (14:19): Pursuant to section 19(3) of the Parliamentary Committees Act, I seek leave to address the council in relation to a response to the Legislative Review Committee petition No. 84 of 2021, SA Ambulance Service Resourcing.

Leave granted.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: I am addressing the council on behalf of the Minister for Health and Wellbeing, the Hon. Chris Picton, in relation to a petition regarding SA Ambulance Service resourcing that was tabled by the member for Croydon, now the Premier, in 2021. I am pleased to share that, since the time of this petition, the Malinauskas Labor government is now building a bigger health system for all South Australians.

In its first three budgets the government has delivered $7.1 billion in additional funding for the health system. We are adding more than 600 extra beds right across our health system. That is the equivalent of two brand new Queen Elizabeth hospitals. We have added more than 1,400 clinicians, above attrition, since coming to government. That is 691 extra nurses, 329 extra doctors, 219 extra ambos and 193 extra allied health workers. We are also providing the necessary funding for our ambulance services to deliver more paramedics, more ambulances and new ambulance stations.

Of course, this is in stark contrast to when the petition was tabled, when:

the previous Liberal government cut $13 million in funding to the South Australian Ambulance Service in its first two years, according to the Productivity Commission;

the 90^th percentile ambulance response deteriorated to 71.3 minutes, the worst in the nation by far; and

only one out of every three ambulances turned up on time, potentially risking the lives of thousands of South Australians.

Whereas now there is a two-thirds chance of the priority ambulance arriving on time rather than a two-thirds chance of it arriving late. This translates into thousands more patients every month receiving their ambulance on time.

Of course we know there is more work to do and we will continue to deliver increased capacity in our health system to meet demand, ease pressure on our hospitals and reduce ramping. I am advised that many of the committee's recommendations are already in place or have been completed, with work progressing on others. This government will always back our hardworking ambos, along with our doctors and nurses, and we will keep investing in building a bigger health system.