House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-10-15 Daily Xml

Contents

ENTERPRISE PATIENT ADMINISTRATION SYSTEM

Mr MARSHALL (Norwood—Leader of the Opposition) (15:03): Why should the people of South Australia have any confidence in the government whatsoever with the implementation of the EPAS—a $408 million system—when the government has had a 200 per cent blowout in the implementation of a simple Oracle system originally forecast to only cost $22 million?

The SPEAKER: Leader, if that isn't debating a question I don't know what is. Secondly, I hope the leader won't squeal if and when a minister replies in the same tone. Minister for Health.

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) (15:04): I have great confidence in the delivery of the EPAS project, and we have seen the first rollout to the Noarlunga Hospital which has been—

Ms Sanderson interjecting:

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: Contrary to what might have been the hopes of the opposition, the rollout of EPAS to Noarlunga has been incredibly successful.

The SPEAKER: The member for Adelaide is warned a second time.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: For the first time, having been down there and spoken to the staff at the coalface, the staff who are delivering health services to South Australians in the Noarlunga Hospital—for the first time, one observation is made, and that is that nurses have time to spend with their patients rather than writing up notes and having to sit around the nurses' station. More time is able to be spent by nurses in the direct delivery of care to patients.

I have no doubt that the opposition have a problem with that—no doubt at all the opposition do not like to see that happening. I know they do not like to see the successful delivery of a program by this government. This government has had vision in health, something sadly lacking in the opposition, something the opposition never showed when they had an opportunity to be in government and something the opposition have not shown in the last 10 years they have been in opposition.

This government has been determined to reform our health system, to make sure that we have the capacity to deliver better health care to South Australians. There is an increasing demand in health, of course, that we have to grapple with. What was the answer that the opposition had when they were last in government? Privatisation: privatisation of the Modbury Hospital. It is wonderful to see those crocodile tears from the Leader of the Opposition, but they have no sympathy for South Australians. They have no interest in the health care of South Australians. They have no interest in the health policy whatsoever.

All they are interested in is stirring up a bit of trouble, and when something goes well, when a project is delivered, what do we see? Squealing: squealing like stuck little pigs from the opposition. That is all we hear whenever something goes well. This government can be proud of what we have delivered over the last 10 years or 12 years in the health portfolio. I will not resile from that for a minute.

The SPEAKER: Well, that was nostalgic. The leader, with a fourth supplementary, which is probably out of order.