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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-03-20 Daily Xml
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MENTAL HEALTH FACILITIES

Dr McFETRIDGE (Morphett) (15:01): I will try again. To the Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse: minister, has the situation described in your ministerial statement released today, that 'there have been cases that have recently come to my attention where, in my view, patients have stayed an unacceptably long time in emergency departments awaiting access to acute mental health care', led to patients being shackled in emergency departments rather than being admitted to proper care?

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING (Playford—Minister for Health and Ageing, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister for Defence Industries, Minister for Veterans' Affairs) (15:02): I don't think it would be fair to say that a shortage of acute beds has resulted in patients being shackled. Patients are being shackled, on the occasions where it does happen, principally for their own safety or for the safety of workers, doctors, nurses and other patients in an emergency department. My concern is about recent cases that have come to the public's attention and to my attention, where people with acute mental health issues have had to stay in emergency departments for what I consider to be an unacceptably long time.

I should point out 'stay' not 'wait'. They continue to be treated while they are in the emergency department. They are not sitting in a sitting room. They are being monitored by health professionals—doctors, nurses and consultants. They are given appropriate treatment. The issue, and what I am asking this review to consider, is whether we have the right balance of acute and subacute beds. The government since 2007, as I said, have invested $300 million in increasing our subacute capacity as a result of the recommendations in Monsignor Cappo's Stepping Up report. The government has been progressively implementing those recommendations.

Indeed, when the reforms were announced in 2007 South Australia had 513 inpatient and forensic mental health beds. When all the infrastructure is completed in 2014, South Australia will have 615 beds in places across all care types—an increase of 102 beds and places. That is a significant expansion of our mental health capacity in this state. I think it is something that the government can be rightly proud of, that we have made mental health a priority for this government and invested significant amounts of money into it. But we do need to make a decision. I do need to evaluate whether we have that mix right. I wouldn't want anything to be having unintended consequences. Clinicians have raised with me their concerns, and I will have an independent evaluation undertaken so that, if the policy needs to be nuanced, then we will do so.

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