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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, First Session (53-1)
2014-09-25 Daily Xml
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Emergency Departments

Mr MARSHALL (Dunstan—Leader of the Opposition) (14:24): My question is to the Minister for Health. Hopefully he takes this question seriously. What action is the government taking to improve the clearance of mental health patients from the Royal Adelaide Hospital emergency department, given that the SASMOA work health and safety audit revealed that 73 incident reports were lodged in relation to mental health patients waiting excessive periods of time in the Royal Adelaide Hospital emergency department, including 18 patients waiting for five days?

The SPEAKER: Minister.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING (Playford—Minister for Health, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Health Industries) (14:25): Don't mention the war! Don't mention the war, Basil!

Mr Pisoni interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Unley is warned a first and a second time.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: Certainly I am not satisfied—

Ms REDMOND: Point of order. The Minister for Health again made a reference to the Leader of the Opposition as 'Basil'. I respectfully request that you draw his attention to the fact that he is ignoring your ruling consistently and you have already warned him.

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The Treasurer is warned a first time.

The Hon. T.R. Kenyon: Sir, in any other court, truth is a defence.

The SPEAKER: The member for Newland is called to order. Did the Minister for Health refer to anyone on the other side as 'Basil'?

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: My remarks simply were: 'Don't mention the war.'

The SPEAKER: I warn the Minister for Health for introducing irrelevant material. The leader.

Mr MARSHALL: I didn't get an answer to the question I asked before.

The SPEAKER: Do tell.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: Of course, I am not satisfied about the lengthy stays mental health patients have in emergency departments waiting for an acute bed. That is why we are taking a number of actions to try to reduce that, the first one of which is to create the direct entry facility for mental health patients presenting at the Royal Adelaide Hospital so that they can go straight to a dedicated mental health ward rather than have to wait sometimes significant periods in the Royal Adelaide Hospital emergency department before an acute bed can be found for them.

Of course, it is unacceptable that mental health patients have to wait significantly longer than other patients waiting for admission into an acute ward. I must say, if there is one thing that I would like to see improved in my tenure in this portfolio, it would be to have that gap between other patients and mental health patients in the time they wait in emergency departments for admission into an acute ward eliminated.

Ms Redmond: Imagine if we had Glenside.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: I have been through that if you were paying attention. We're creating a direct—

Mr Marshall interjecting:

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: The Leader of the Opposition, sir. We are creating a direct entry facility for mental health patients so that they do not have to spend any time in the emergency department at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, instead, they will be admitted directly into a dedicated mental health ward. It is why we are creating a short-stay facility for mental health presentations at the Flinders Medical Centre. I could go on and on about the things we are doing to try to eliminate this. I certainly acknowledge that it is—

Mr Tarzia interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Hartley is warned.

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING: —unacceptable that mental health patients have to wait considerably longer periods than other patients for admission into an acute bed.

Ms Redmond interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Heysen is called to order. Leader.

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