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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2021-05-27 Daily Xml
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Public Works Committee: Flinders Medical Centre Emergency Department

Mr CREGAN (Kavel) (11:51): I move:

That the 116th report of the committee for the Fifty-Fourth Parliament, entitled 'Flinders Medical Centre emergency department expansion project', be noted.

Flinders Medical Centre is the major tertiary referral centre for acute care and emergency services in the southern region of Adelaide and it is operated by the Southern Adelaide Local Health Network. The hospital manages the majority of major and complex medical and surgical diagnostic and treatment procedures for the southern region. The hospital is a tertiary referral teaching hospital associated with Flinders University and the 130-bed privately owned and operated Flinders Private Hospital.

Flinders Medical Centre's emergency department is among the busiest in South Australia, receiving approximately 90,000 emergency department presentations in the 2018-19 financial year. Over the past three financial years (2016-17 through to 2018-19), Flinders Medical Centre has reported a 5.1 per cent increase in presentations to the emergency department. Due to the growing number of presentations at Flinders, it is subject to peak incidences, whereby there is insufficient treatment area to accommodate new presentations and patients remain in ambulant care until they can safely be transitioned into the emergency department.

The total investing budget of $11 million was approved by cabinet for construction works and equipment upgrades at Flinders Medical Centre and Noarlunga Hospital, Myles Ward, as part of the Southern Health Expansion Plan. The total value of the Flinders Medical Centre emergency department expansion is $8.5 million. The scope of work for the project will provide a comprehensively reconfigured and expanded emergency department with additional treatment bays within the existing hospital footprint, including:

a relocated and refurbished emergency extended care unit to provide 31 treatment spaces, inclusive of five intensive care unit overflow treatment spaces;

a relocated and refurbished paediatric treatment zone to provide 13 treatment bays;

a relocated and refurbished discharge zone to provide 12 treatment spaces and 10 'see and treat' spaces;

the construction of a new isolation-resuscitation bay adjacent to the existing emergency department resuscitation bays;

the refurbishment and expansion of emergency department staff amenities adjacent to the relocated EECU; and

electrical body protection, patient monitoring, duress system compliance upgrades to two wards.

The project works are expected to be commencing with practical completion of the project expected mid this year.

The committee examined written and oral evidence in relation to this project and received assurances that the appropriate consultation in relation to this project had been undertaken. The committee is satisfied that the proposal has been subject to the appropriate agency consultation and meets the criteria for examination of projects as set out in the Parliamentary Committees Act 1991. Based on evidence considered and pursuant to section 12C of the Parliamentary Committees Act 1991, the Public Works Committee recommends the scope of works to the house.

Mr MURRAY (Davenport) (11:54): I, too, rise to speak in support of the expansion of Flinders Medical Centre which, as the member for Kavel has indicated, is a key part of the health network in Adelaide generally and, more particularly, in the southern area. The key takeaway is the fact that the emergency department facility has a design criterion of some 70,000 presentations per annum, yet it is being forced, and has been forced for some time now, to deal with a number considerably in excess of that—well in excess of 90,000 presentations currently. In the proposal before the committee, in the 2018 financial year there were some 90,000-odd as well.

Flinders has reported before the committee a 5.1 per cent increase in presentations over the course of the previous three financial years. A consequence of that growth in presentations is that, with peak instances, there is insufficient treatment space to accommodate new presentations, and patients remain in ambulant care until they can be safely transitioned to the emergency department. That is code for the fact that, as a result of an underinvestment in the capacity at Flinders—as a result of the underinvestment in the capacity at Flinders—there is substantial ambulance ramping. I note with considerable interest that the member for Hurtle Vale is shaking her head.

Ms Cook: You can attack me personally if you like. I'll back my reputation over yours any day.

Mr MURRAY: Well, you may be taken up on that, member for Hurtle Vale.

Ms Cook: Keep going.

Mr MURRAY: Have a seat, and we'll talk about the evidence—

The SPEAKER: The member for Davenport will not respond to interjections.

Mr MURRAY: —given to the committee.

Ms Cook: Keep going.

Mr MURRAY: I will.

Ms Cook: We'll put it to the public, no problem.

Mr MURRAY: We will talk about the evidence given to the committee—

Ms Cook: Keep going.

The SPEAKER: The member for Hurtle Vale is called to order.

Mr MURRAY: —about the disgraceful way in which the staff at Flinders have been forced to try to cope with the fact—

Ms Cook: You don't know what you're talking about.

Mr MURRAY: Oh, deary me! As I said, the member for Hurtle Vale will doubtless be fascinated to hear some of the evidence provided to us in support of this most noteworthy investment by this government, strongly recommended and greatly appreciated it has to be said, in health services in the southern area.

The investment is part of the Southern Health Expansion Plan, which involves at its heart not just an increase in the capacity for Flinders but as part of that an increase or, more accurately, a replacement of the capacity gutted from Noarlunga Hospital as part of Labor's failed Transforming Health disaster. One of the reasons we are able to do that is that we retained what is known as the Repat hospital.

The Repat of course was slated for closure, had actually been sold, everything disconnected, staff laid off or transferred, as the case may be. By retaining the Repat, and honouring a commitment to the people of the south as a consequence of that, we have been able to relocate services from Noarlunga and, having freed up space at Noarlunga, in turn moved services from Flinders. As a consequences of that, we are able to substantially increase the capacity at Flinders. I note for the record that the member for Hurtle Vale is shaking her head. We are increasing the capacity at Flinders Medical Centre and you can deny it all you like.

Ms Cook interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Ms Cook: Stick to your car sales.

Mr MURRAY: 'Stick to your car sales,' says the world expert on health! The world expert for—

The SPEAKER: The member for Davenport will not respond to interjections.

Mr MURRAY: When she got elected, what was the first thing the member for Hurtle Vale did? Shut the Repat.

Ms Cook interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Hurtle Vale will cease interjecting.

Mr MURRAY: I am delighted to make the point that this government is increasing the capacity at Flinders and the 50-odd beds by a factor of almost 100 per cent, up to 85 beds. It will be the biggest single emergency department in the state, courtesy of this capital investment, and not just a capital investment of $8.5 million but an ongoing operating budget to put staff in there, and that is a consequence of the evidence.

Debate adjourned.

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