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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2022-05-03 Daily Xml
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Ambulance Ramping

Mr PEDERICK (Hammond) (16:57): Supplementary on that question to the health minister: when is the Malinauskas Labor government going to end ramping, like they promised during the recent state election?

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Hammond, you have asked your question; now we turn to the minister.

The Hon. C.J. PICTON (Kaurna—Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (16:58): I am only more happy to answer this question because we made a very clear commitment to fix the ramping crisis in South Australia. We have a plan to do that—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: —over the course of four years.

Mr Pederick interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, member for Hammond!

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: —because we have to invest in these mental health beds and we have to invest in these subacute beds. We have to open them and we have to recruit the doctors and nurses to staff them, and that's clearly what was not happening under the previous government—

Mr Pederick interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Hammond is warned.

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: —and that's what we are starting work on immediately. It's just absolutely staggering the gall of those opposite to come here crowing when you just have to look at their record—

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis: Some members opposite.

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: Some members opposite. Just look at the first nine months of this financial year what those stats show. We actually had 2½ thousand fewer presentations—

Mr Tarzia interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Hartley is on one warning.

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: —in our hospital system, yet we had 6,200 more hours of ambulances ramped. It is absolutely disgraceful what has been happening in our health system, and that's why—

Mr PEDERICK: Point of order, Mr Speaker.

The SPEAKER: Minister, there's a point of order. I will hear the member for Hammond on a point of order.

Mr PEDERICK: Point of order: the—

The Hon. L.W.K. Bignell: He wants to withdraw his supplementary.

The SPEAKER: Order, member for Mawson!

Mr PEDERICK: No, not at all.

The SPEAKER: Member for Mawson, your attempt at levity is in breach of the standing orders.

Mr PEDERICK: The question was very clear, Mr Speaker. It was about a promise the Malinauskas opposition made during the campaign that they would end ramping. It's very simple: when are you going to end it?

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! I have in mind—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Hammond, I'm not certain as to which standing order you are drawing my attention. Nevertheless, I have in mind standing order 98 and it may be that is what you contemplated.

Mr Pederick interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Hammond says, 'That'll do.' Of course, in answering a question a minister or other member replies to the substance of the question. They may not debate the matter to which the question refers. I'm listening carefully.

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: I think the member for Hammond may be confused because the member of this house who said, very clearly, that he was going to end ramping almost immediately was the member for Dunstan, and under his watch—

Mr Cowdrey interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, member for Colton!

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: —ramping increased. It didn't increase by 10 per cent, it didn't increase by 20 per cent: it increased by 485 per cent. It is absolutely disgraceful, and it's had an impact on patients across South Australia, and this government—

Mr TARZIA: Point of order.

The SPEAKER: Order! Minister, there is a point of order. I will hear—

Mr TARZIA: Sir, 98: the minister is now deviating from the substance of the question.

The SPEAKER: Very well. I hear the member for Hartley in relation to standing order 98. There is some force in what the member says. I draw the minister's attention to the substance of the question.

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: We made a very clear commitment to the people of South Australia to end the ramping crisis over this term by investing in those beds, investing in those doctors, investing in those nurses, investing in mental health capacity to make sure that South Australians can get out of the emergency department, that we can address that access block, that people can get off the ambulance ramp into the emergency department and that people who are calling 000 can get an ambulance to arrive on time.

You only have to look at what has happened in terms of 000 ambulance responses. Before the 2018 election, in 2017-18—

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: I am about to tell you the data, just you hang on. In 2017-18—

The SPEAKER: Order, member for Hartley!

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: —the ambulance response times for priority 2 lights and sirens cases was 85 per cent of the time; 85 per cent of the time the ambulance rolled up on time.

Mr PISONI: Point of order, sir.

The SPEAKER: Order! There is a point of order.

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: That reduced the last—

The SPEAKER: Order! Minister, please be seated; there is a point of order.

Mr PISONI: The minister is introducing debate. I ask that you call the minister to order.

The SPEAKER: The member for Unley on a point of order in relation to debate. I earlier mentioned to members the provisions of standing order 98. Minister, I draw your attention to the question.

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: This is absolutely critical to the ramping crisis, when you see the ambulance response times significantly deteriorate. We have gone from 98 per cent responding on time with an ambulance four years ago, in 2017-18, and then in January this year that was 33 per cent of people who got an ambulance to respond on time.

Mr PISONI: Point of order.

The SPEAKER: Minister, please be seated. I will hear the member for Unley on a point of order.

Mr PISONI: The debate is continuing from the minister, and I ask you to bring him to the substance of the question, which is when ramping is going to stop.

The SPEAKER: There is some force in the member for Unley's submission. I do observe, though, that there were interjections in relation to this matter and it may be that the minister has been encouraged to digress arising from those interjections. Minister, I draw your attention to the substance of the question.

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: I can only state once again that the member for Dunstan was the one who made that commitment. It increased significantly under his watch. We have made a very clear commitment to end the ramping crisis. We are investing in 300 additional beds, 300 additional nurses, 350 extra ambos, 100 extra doctors, 120 extra—

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: Slogans?

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, member for West Torrens, member for Wright!

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: These are real investments that will make a difference for those South Australians who need an ambulance, for those South Australians who need to get into an emergency department who haven't been able to do so because we have seen ambulance ramping increase by 485 per cent over the past four years.

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