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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2010-10-27 Daily Xml
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COMMUNITY HOSPITAL FUNDING

The Hon. R.B. SUCH (Fisher) (15:07): I am still in here. My question is to the Minister for Health. Is the government creating a double standard by funding the community-based McLaren Vale hospital yet refusing to fund similar hospitals—such as Keith, Ardrossan, Moonta and Glenelg—which are in non-Labor seats?

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.D. HILL (Kaurna—Minister for Health, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister for the Southern Suburbs, Minister Assisting the Premier in the Arts) (15:07): I thank the member for Fisher for the question, a question that the opposition was too gutless to ask. I am happy for the question.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. J.D. HILL: Do you want to hear the answer or do you just want to interrupt?

Mr Pederick: Not really.

The Hon. J.D. HILL: That is the point, Madam Speaker—

Mr Williams interjecting:

The Hon. J.D. HILL: Tell us some more, Mitch.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. J.D. HILL: Maybe if you stopped talking I would give you the answer. The issue in relation to the McLaren Vale hospital is substantially different. We use the McLaren Vale hospital to supply extra capacity to take on patients who can no longer fit into Flinders Medical Centre. Flinders Medical Centre is a city hospital which—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.D. HILL: Flinders Medical Centre is at over capacity much of the time, and some patients from there, who no longer need to be in an acute hospital, can be transferred to that hospital. That is the reason.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. J.D. HILL: It is not what they have been doing at Moonta. Moonta has aged-care accommodation, which is not our responsibility. These are for patients who are recovering from acute surgical procedures. That is what we use that hospital for, and it is perfectly justifiable based on a supply and demand situation. We still have a similar arrangement in relation to Glenelg hospital, but we are building extra capacity for rehabilitation at the Repat hospital, which will take over that supply, so we will not need that particular service. I would just say to the house that, if in future the government for various management of supply and demand reasons needs to buy capacity in a private hospital anywhere in the state, I reserve the right to do that if we need to do it. That is different from providing a subsidy to a hospital for services which we do not need.

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