<!--The Official Report of Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) of the Legislative Council and the House of Assembly of the Parliament of South Australia are covered by parliamentary privilege. Republication by others is not afforded the same protection and may result in exposure to legal liability if the material is defamatory. You may copy and make use of excerpts of proceedings where (1) you attribute the Parliament as the source, (2) you assume the risk of liability if the manner of your use is defamatory, (3) you do not use the material for the purpose of advertising, satire or ridicule, or to misrepresent members of Parliament, and (4) your use of the extracts is fair, accurate and not misleading. Copyright in the Official Report of Parliamentary Debates is held by the Attorney-General of South Australia.-->
<hansard id="" tocId="" xml:lang="EN-AU" schemaVersion="4.0" xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="hansard_1_0.xsd" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2007/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML">
  <name>Legislative Council</name>
  <date date="2025-09-18T14:15:00+09:30" />
  <sessionName>Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)</sessionName>
  <parliamentNum>55</parliamentNum>
  <sessionNum>1</sessionNum>
  <parliamentName>Parliament of South Australia</parliamentName>
  <house>Legislative Council</house>
  <venue></venue>
  <reviewStage>published</reviewStage>
  <startPage num="9693" />
  <endPage num="9727" />
  <dateModified time="2025-09-19T15:44:09+09:30" />
  <proceeding continued="true" uid="fa56114320054b65a90681b4608dae97">
    <name>Question Time</name>
    <subject uid="7302cf884865445da743fab500b53da3">
      <name>Long COVID Clinics</name>
      <text id="20250918212dd2584473489680000230">
        <heading>Long COVID Clinics</heading>
      </text>
      <talker role="member" id="4362" referenceid="9196416ed01f41d0801ce030b03cd39a" uid="5cbf86caf2344968bdbb54d7bf6c3c86" kind="question">
        <name>The Hon. J.S. LEE</name>
        <house>Legislative Council</house>
        <questions>
          <question date="2025-09-18T04:45:00+09:30">
            <name>Long COVID Clinics</name>
          </question>
        </questions>
        <startTime time="2025-09-18T15:13:01+09:30" />
        <text id="20250918212dd2584473489680000231">
          <timeStamp time="2025-09-18T15:13:01+09:30" />
          <by role="member" id="4362" referenceid="9196416ed01f41d0801ce030b03cd39a" uid="5cbf86caf2344968bdbb54d7bf6c3c86">The Hon. J.S. LEE (15:13):</by>  I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Attorney-General, representing the Minister for Health and Wellbeing, regarding Long COVID Clinics.</text>
        <text id="20250918212dd2584473489680000232">Leave granted.</text>
      </talker>
      <talker role="member" id="4362" referenceid="9196416ed01f41d0801ce030b03cd39a" uid="5d2d7b08f5a446ea81dd331365bf4fc8" kind="question" continued="true">
        <name>The Hon. J.S. LEE</name>
        <house>Legislative Council</house>
        <text id="20250918212dd2584473489680000233">
          <by role="member" id="4362" referenceid="9196416ed01f41d0801ce030b03cd39a" uid="5d2d7b08f5a446ea81dd331365bf4fc8">The Hon. J.S. LEE:</by>  The Royal Adelaide Hospital's Long COVID Clinic, now a permanent service, is reportedly treating 20 to 40 patients a day, with over 1,000 South Australians receiving care in the past year. The clinic has shifted its focus to more complex cases. While waiting times have improved, the condition continues to significantly impact patients' quality of life, employment and social participation. These patients are struggling with debilitating fatigue, brain fog and muscle weaknesses, all from long-term COVID. My questions to the minister are:</text>
        <text id="20250918212dd2584473489680000234">1.&amp;#x9;Can the minister provide an update on the current funding and staffing levels for the Long COVID Clinics at the Royal Adelaide Hospital and Flinders Medical Centre?</text>
        <text id="20250918212dd2584473489680000235">2.&amp;#x9;Can the minister explain whether the government has undertaken any study of the impact of long COVID affecting employees in the public sector?</text>
        <text id="20250918212dd2584473489680000236">3.&amp;#x9;What measures are in place to ensure equitable access to long COVID care for patients in regional and remote South Australia?</text>
      </talker>
      <talker role="member" id="4697" referenceid="c1607c57d2294390bdc2b07c15f35010" uid="24bdc96fbd12410caba97534d1b22ca6" kind="answer">
        <name>The Hon. K.J. MAHER</name>
        <house>Legislative Council</house>
        <portfolios>
          <portfolio id="">
            <name>Minister for Aboriginal Affairs</name>
          </portfolio>
          <portfolio id="">
            <name>Attorney-General</name>
          </portfolio>
          <portfolio id="">
            <name>Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector</name>
          </portfolio>
          <portfolio id="">
            <name>Special Minister of State</name>
          </portfolio>
        </portfolios>
        <startTime time="2025-09-18T15:14:33+09:30" />
        <text id="20250918212dd2584473489680000237">
          <timeStamp time="2025-09-18T15:14:33+09:30" />
          <by role="member" id="4697" referenceid="c1607c57d2294390bdc2b07c15f35010" uid="24bdc96fbd12410caba97534d1b22ca6">The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector, Special Minister of State) (15:14):</by>  I thank the honourable member for her question and her interest in health matters generally. I will pass those on to the health minister in another place, the Hon. Chris Picton MP, and bring back a reply.</text>
      </talker>
    </subject>
  </proceeding>
</hansard>