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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-02-08 Daily Xml
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COMMUNITY HOSPITAL FUNDING

Dr McFETRIDGE (Morphett) (15:16): Will the Treasurer proceed with funding cuts to hospitals in Keith, Moonta, Ardrossan and Glenelg?

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) (15:17): I thank the member for Morphett for the question.

The Hon. I.F. Evans interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Davenport!

The Hon. J.D. HILL: I was looking for the ministerial statement that I was going to give after question time on the very subject, so I might take advantage of the question to provide the information to the house now.

We at SA Health have been working closely with privately-run community hospitals to review local financial and operational arrangements, and support the boards following changes to state government subsidies. I appreciate the community's commitment to these hospitals, and I take the opportunity to thank the board members for the constructive attitude they have shown in reviewing their long-term business plans to set up sustainable services for the future.

Shortly after the budget announcement, Allan Lehman, the Chief Executive Officer of the Glenelg Community Hospital, wrote to the Messenger Press and stated:

I can confirm that the hospital is funded and will continue to be funded via agreements with private health insurance providers.

He continued:

I would like to reassure the community that the hospital is profitable and we are strategically and operationally performing well.

So, that is the first one. When I met with representatives of the boards of the country community private hospitals in October, I offered the Department of Health's expertise in creating a long-term business platform for each hospital. In this way, each community hospital could create a sustainable service. The then chief executive of the Department of Health, Dr Tony Sherbon, and the Chief Executive of Country Health SA, Adjunct Professor Belinda Moyes, met with the chief executive officers and board members of the three hospitals in November and in early December 2010.

Further, Adjunct Professor Moyes arranged for senior executives from within Country Health SA to visit each hospital. The Country Health SA working party began a partnership with the local hospitals and their boards to review local financial and operational arrangements. I am very pleased to announce today that savings opportunities, potential new commonwealth aged care residential income of substantial size, and revised models of care are being finalised, which will enable the continuation of services for Moonta Health and Aged Care Services and Ardrossan Community Hospital. In fact, both those boards have written to me along those lines. We have also identified savings and increased revenue opportunities for Keith and District Hospital that, if implemented, would make that hospital financially viable in the long term. We are waiting to hear back from them.

ACH Group, a South Australian independent aged care specialist organisation, was commissioned by Country Health SA to visit Keith and District Hospital and review the potential for increasing aged care revenue. ACH Group reported the potential for increasing revenue for commonwealth residential community aged care. The point is that a couple of these hospitals have aged-care facilities but they are not getting the proper funding from the commonwealth because they have not done the paperwork necessary to get that funding. There are substantial revenues available to them which we have helped them identify, and I have to say that they were very pleased by that assistance.

The sum of these initiatives, if achieved, is far in excess of the subsidy that has been removed. As a result of the work that health is doing with them, if they do what we have recommended, they will be better off than if the subsidies had been maintained. This makes them viable, sustainable hospitals without the need for state subsidies.

I also note for the record that Keith and District Hospital will continue to receive $300,000 from the state government in recognition of the emergency services they provide in the region. So, by working closely with the hospital boards behind the scenes, with quiet discussion between Department of Health officers and the hospital boards, we have come up with some solutions which make those hospitals sustainable.

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