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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-07-11 Daily Xml
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PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE: PORT PIRIE GP PLUS HEALTH CARE CENTRE

Mr ODENWALDER (Little Para) (11:35): I move:

That the 450th report of the committee, entitled Port Pirie GP Plus Health Care Centre, be noted.

This report details the GP Plus Health Care Centre at Port Pirie, with a new facility to be constructed at Gertrude Street, Port Pirie, adjacent to the existing Port Pirie Hospital. This facility will provide physical infrastructure to support the delivery of integrated services with a health and wellbeing perspective, including space for consulting rooms, group meetings, therapy procedures and car parking. The total capital cost budgeted for the project is $12.49 million, including GST. The objectives of the Port Pirie GP Plus Health Care Centre include:

one integrated health service provided to the community;

increased equity of access and equity of health outcomes;

improved balance on in hospital/out of hospital services;

improved self-management of chronic diseases;

additional services in areas such as diabetes, respiratory, cardiac problems and pharmacy;

improved access to preventative health care;

a reduction in accident and emergency presentations;

reduced hospital admissions;

increased volume of services available to the community;

an increase in the range of programs available;

an increase in the medical services available generally to the community; and

integrated services between health partners.

I have seen firsthand the great success of the Elizabeth GP Plus clinic, which has certainly eased pressure on the Lyell McEwin emergency department. Given this, and pursuant to section 12C of the Parliamentary Committees Act, the Public Works Committee reports to parliament that it recommends the proposed public works.

Mr VENNING (Schubert) (11:37): I want to commend the committee on its report and say how pleased the community are up there that this has eventually happened. This was an idea of the previous member, the then premier Hon. Rob Kerin, and I am pleased that it has eventually come about. Port Pirie is very important to the region's health because it is the major hospital. Even though Crystal Brook is only a few kilometres down the road, Port Pirie is certainly the major acute hospital for the whole region.

I am a little bit concerned that, over the years, Port Pirie has missed out because it is a fair way from Adelaide. I believe that, when we have seen all the extra money that has been spent in the regions—Mount Gambier and Berri—and in the last lot of funding Port Pirie missed out. I am pleased that, at least through the GP Plus, we have seen an increase in the services.

I commend all those who work in Port Pirie Hospital because they do a great job. It is a large city and it is a very good facility. Can I say that the people of Crystal Brook certainly work well with the people of Port Pirie. We are so lucky to have a facility like we do in Crystal Brook because it is funded largely by private donations and private bequests, including from our own family—both my mother and father spent their last days there. It was a pleasure to go there just last week to see a room set up for palliative care with equipment donated by my late father and mother.

This is the sort of thing rural communities do and we are so pleased to have a facility like we have at Crystal Brook and we are just so thankful to the people who keep it there. It is a great place for older folk, who are aged and infirm, to go there and spend their last days, as both my parents did.

Without any further ado, I am pleased that this has eventually happened. It has been on the go for some time and I commend the previous member—the member for Frome, in those days—the Hon. Rob Kerin, for having the idea in the first place.

Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN (Stuart) (11:39): I, too, rise to support the report and to support the upgrade of the Port Pirie GP Plus Health Care Centre. There is an enormous part of the electorate of Stuart that is serviced by medical people, services, facilities and support in Port Pirie, and I think that this is going to be an important development and that it is money very well spent. It also highlights the fact that, probably four years ago when the government announced its Country Health Care Plan and its intention to upgrade the hospitals at Port Lincoln, Whyalla, Berri and Mount Gambier, an enormous part of the state was missed out.

I do not begrudge those communities; in fact, I am very pleased that each of them are getting significant money spent (in the tens of millions of dollars) on those hospitals and good for those communities, but there certainly is a very good argument put forward that Port Pirie or Port Augusta should have been included in that list. I think that it showed a great lack of foresight that an enormous section of the Mid North—as well as the Flinders Ranges and outback area—was neglected by that plan at the time, so I think that this is money very well spent by the government.

As the member for Schubert quite correctly highlighted, this follows on from the original suggestion and plans by the former member for Frome, the Hon. Rob Kerin, and so I certainly strongly support the government making this investment in Port Pirie.

Motion carried.

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