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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-02-08 Daily Xml
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Ministerial Statement

HEALTH PERFORMANCE COUNCIL

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) (15:30): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.D. HILL: On 23 June 2008, South Australia became the first state in Australia to establish an independent body that regularly reviews the performance of its health system. The Health Performance Council, appointed under the Health Care Act 2008, provided their inaugural four-yearly report to me on the performance of the health system and the health status of South Australians on 24 December last year. This government has encouraged external review of South Australia's health system and its performance.

Understanding health systems and measuring performance is a challenging exercise, and I commend the Health Performance Council under its chair, Anne Dunn, on its work. Reviewing a system, particularly one as large and complex as the South Australian health system, will always identify areas that are performing well, areas that require improvement and areas where the reviewer and reviewed interpret the results differently. I am pleased that the report acknowledges the challenges faced by Australian and international health systems and recognises the complexities of these systems.

The Health Performance Council identifies areas where SA Health is performing well. The majority of South Australians, for example, are living longer, and the government is improving services in the South Australian community in the areas of mental health, health protection and promotion, illness prevention and early intervention, chronic disease management, improvements in the safety culture and the monitoring of adverse events. The report also identifies significant investment in capital projects and health service infrastructure and that SA Health is focused on achieving greater sustainability in the delivery of health services.

The report also identifies several areas where SA Health could improve, including the areas of Aboriginal health outcomes, community engagement and the evaluation of programs and outcomes. I have asked SA Health to review these areas and provide comprehensive advice about their intentions.

SA Health has provided an interim response addressing the report's 34 key findings. The response provides SA Health's position for each finding, either outlining the current undertakings and/or planned actions that will address the findings, or explaining the rationale for SA Health's decision not to pursue further action in this area. I have tabled both the Health Performance Council document and the initial response. I will table a final response in parliament before the end of June this year.

Together with the Health Performance Council, the government will continue to strive to improve health services and health outcomes for all South Australians. The report, Reflecting onResults: Review of the Public Health System's Performance for 2008-2010,and SA Health's interim response are an important part of this ongoing process. I commend the report to the house.

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