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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2021-06-10 Daily Xml
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Rural Health Workforce Strategy

Mr ELLIS (Narungga) (15:09): I have a question for the minister representing the Minister for Health. Can the minister update the people of Narungga on the progress of the Rural Health Workforce plan? With your leave, and that of the house, Mr Speaker, I will explain further.

Leave granted.

Mr ELLIS: In July 2019, the Rural Health Workforce plan was released and it recommended, amongst other things, three salaried GPs for Wallaroo Hospital starting in 2020 and a business case for a centrally run locum service. What is the progress on these initiatives?

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER (Morialta—Minister for Education) (15:09): I thank the member for the question and I thank him for his advocacy for the people of Narungga. I remember well when I spent some time on Yorke Peninsula with him in the first third of last year. In fact, I think it was the last regional trip I did before we stopped going out so much as a result of the pandemic. I spent a couple of days with the member for Narungga.

While we were spending time visiting the schools in his electorate, having a look at some of the excellent educational programs that were in store and meeting with principals and preschool directors at a dozen of those sites, I also remember very much that, when we were going past each town, the member for Narungga would be able to highlight the health services that were on offer and bring to my attention some of the opportunities for improvements.

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for West Torrens is warned for a second time.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: We spent some time talking about the service provided by a close friend of my family, the late Dr John Flett, and what he had done for the Kadina hospital in particular. I know that the member for Narungga and his family are engaged very much in those services. The member for Narungga particularly—

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis interjecting:

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Sorry?

The SPEAKER: The minister has the call.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Before I was interrupted, the member for Narungga was asking about the Wallaroo services particularly. I am pleased to advise the member for Narungga and his community that a salaried medical model of care for Wallaroo Hospital was approved by the Yorke and Northern Local Health Network governing board on 5 May, a month ago.

The model of care will replace the current locum staffing arrangement with the salaried model, which will provide a varied skill mix to the communities of Wallaroo and surrounds and enable patients to have services closer to home. Recruitment for stage 1 of the model of care will commence shortly for an additional three salaried rural generalists—these are new positions—to work with the current two locums.

These positions will manage the emergency department, inpatients and some specialised procedural work at Wallaroo Hospital. The Executive Director of Medical Services of the Yorke and Northern Local Health Network has met with general practitioners in Wallaroo and Kadina, who have agreed to continue to provide procedural services to Wallaroo Hospital. Stage 2 of the model of care will see additional rural generalists working at Wallaroo Hospital to manage the emergency department, obstetrics, anaesthetics, surgery, internal medicine and paediatrics, thereby replacing the locums currently providing services at Wallaroo Hospital.

The agreed changes to nurse rostering at Wallaroo Hospital have been successfully implemented following a trial conducted between October 2020 and January 2021. The trial proceeded without incident, and it was agreed to implement the revised rostering practices, which would be reviewed at three, six and 12 months. I am advised that no issues were identified at the three-month review. I hope this gives some comfort and confidence to the people of the member for Narungga's electorate.

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