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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-07-15 Daily Xml
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WHYALLA HOSPITAL RENAL UNIT

Ms BREUER (Giles) (15:23): I want to talk about a couple of issues today but, first, I want to talk about the commencement of renal dialysis services at the Whyalla Hospital on 29 June 2009. I am very thrilled about this, because it is a long-needed service that is now provided in Whyalla.

The need for a renal dialysis service in Whyalla was proposed by the South Australian Department of Health in March 2009 in recognition that there was increased stress on the dialysis service in the Northern Territory which was consequently expected to increase South Australian demand, particularly for the Port Augusta renal dialysis unit where our people had needed to go in the past. It was identified that five current Whyalla residents were receiving dialysis on an ongoing basis in Port Augusta. This means a 150 km round trip, which is two hours of travelling, often in very early morning; and also we had a number of people who were going to Adelaide for dialysis, which meant relocating their families and themselves.

So the decision was taken, which I was very pleased about, that the Whyalla Hospital would install two chairs to address the needs of the Whyalla residents receiving care in Port Augusta, and this would be done in conjunction with the Queen Elizabeth Renal Unit, with the understanding that the Whyalla unit would operate as a satellite of the Queen Elizabeth unit.

I have had many approaches over the years by people in the community requesting that this service be provided. It was always very difficult in the past, but I am very pleased it has happened now. One of the problems was lack of people to staff the unit, but the Queen Elizabeth Hospital has supported the initial training and accreditation of four Whyalla nursing staff and provided technical advice for the purchase and installation of the dialysis equipment, which was fully installed and tested on 25 June. As I have said previously, dialysis started on 29 June. I have received a number of messages from people since then saying how pleased they are that they can now stay within our city for their treatment.

I congratulate our wonderful hospital staff for the work they have done in getting the service provided and all the other wonderful things they do in our community and, in particular, Kay Atfield (the CEO) who has been wonderful in our community, Jim McMenemy (Director of Nursing)—a well-known local who is very much appreciated for his work—and Dan Wakeling (chair of the Health Advisory Committee). They have shown foresight in lobbying for this service, which is now available, so I congratulate them all.

I also want to talk about the Roxby Downs Scout Group. I was in Roxby Downs last week and I met with their leaders. I was stunned to hear that the local scout group raised over $6,000 for the Victorian Bushfire Relief Fund. This is incredible in a community of about 4,000 people. The Roxby Downs Scout Group was reformed in October 2006, and after almost three years the group has become one of the largest, most financial and successful scout groups in South Australia. It provides an essential service to the community, and there are more than 50 members aged between 6 and 15—which is phenomenal for a small community such as Roxby Downs.

The Scout Association must be pleased with and proud of the group. As I said, there are currently over 50 members, but the group has a waiting list and people are putting their children's names on the list when they are born. That is how popular the group is and how important it is in that community. As I said, the group raised over $6,000 for the Victorian Bushfire Relief Fund—which is an amazing thing for them to do.

The group is seeking support to get a permanent home and suitable facilities for their activities. Currently, they are operating from the community church hall, which is much appreciated. They have received excellent service from them and they have been very generous in what they have allowed the group to do, but one of the problems is that the group can only access the hall on one or two nights a week. With 50 scouts and the potential to increase numbers, two nights a week is not enough. They need their own hall. They are not able to play ball games indoors and they cannot set up tents to camp; they need a space.

Unfortunately, because of expansion and planning that is occurring, they keep getting knocked back when they ask for land on which to build. They are bursting at the seams, and they are prepared to look at three different options. The group is financially viable; they have raised substantial funds, so they are not asking for money from anyone. They only want the land on which to build a hall.

The hold-up seems to be with this plan, and I encourage the ministers involved to look forward and assist this group. It is a wonderful group. It is a jewel in the crown for the scouting movement.

Time expired.

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