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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2022-06-01 Daily Xml
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SA Pathology

S.E. ANDREWS (Gibson) (11:33): I move:

That this house—

(a) thanks the hardworking pathologists, scientists, technicians and nurses for their amazing work looking after South Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic;

(b) condemns the former Liberal government for planning to privatise SA Pathology; and

(c) recognises the Malinauskas Labor government's ongoing commitment to keeping SA Pathology in public hands.

Throughout the pandemic, South Australians relied on a quick turnaround on testing and analytics of COVID-19 PCR tests. The role of pathologists, medical scientists, technical officers and nurses has been critical in ensuring that appropriate actions and measures were able to be implemented when necessary.

SA Pathology was never a good fit for privatisation, as we have learned from the COVID-19 crisis. You simply must have surge capacity and SA Pathology to respond to crises like this one. Stopping the privatisation of SA Pathology is a victory for every medical scientist, technical officer, nurse and doctor who joined their union and fought the good fight to protect a critical public health service. Professionals Australia ran the STOP the Health Cell-Off campaign for two years, arguing that privatisation would strip SA Pathology of crucial capacity.

Having a local public service is critical, because it means you are not reliant on interstate testing. Whether it is COVID-19, the flu or an outbreak in the state's water supply, medical scientists at SA Pathology are at the frontline of containing the crisis and saving lives. Workers at SA Pathology can now focus on their job and continue to provide a world-class testing service that enables us to diagnose and treat patients quickly and efficiently.

When the outbreak of coronavirus first occurred, it was difficult to get testing kits because of the high demand globally. The virology division in SA Pathology was able to design and get a validated method up and running within two weeks, while other kits sold out worldwide and were unavailable. This in-house testing by the virology division at SA Pathology was available one week before the British national health system (the NHS) with its large pool of laboratory experts was able to have its in-house testing up and running.

The alternative to developing our own testing regime would have been to physically send people's respiratory samples interstate for testing, which significantly delays results and places the patient and the community at risk in the interim. The skill and knowledge base to do this in-house cannot be undervalued and this is precisely the capability that was being undermined in staff cuts at SA Pathology.

It is not just about being resourced to scrape by. You need surge capacity, and it is not just for coronavirus. The timely provision of pathology services has a direct impact on patient care. Delays to diagnosis lead to delays in treatment and South Australians stay sicker for longer. Delays can result in an outpatient deteriorating to the degree they need to visit an emergency department, and for existing inpatients it can lead to longer bed stays.

As a public healthcare provider, 100 per cent of SA Pathology's tests are bulk billed, whereas that would cease with a privatised service. If the Liberal government had proceeded with cuts and privatisation, the prices would have gone up and the public would be at risk. We have seen what happened when we privatised electricity. The same would have happened at SA Pathology. Every time they needed a blood test or any other pathology service, South Australians would have been out of pocket. We would have seen quality reduced, delays to diagnosis and delays to treatment and South Australians staying sicker for longer.

The work of SA Pathology includes the food and environment laboratory, which identifies the toxins and their source and provides evidence for prosecution of companies that breach our state's—

Mr PISONI: Mr Speaker, I draw your attention to the state of the house.

A quorum having been formed:

S.E. ANDREWS: In the event of a suspected white powder incident, SA Pathology's PC3 lab can test the powder to determine if it is anthrax. When South Australians are injured or ill and need life-saving blood transfusions, SA Pathology ensures patients receive the blood and platelets they need. We need the South Australian government to continue investing in our medical science skills and for doctors and nurses, workforce and capability, as it is a key economic driver to support good health outcomes.

The COVID-19 statistics provided SA Health officials with real-time information that helped keep South Australians safe during the most uncertain times of the pandemic. These workers have been tireless in their efforts to respond to the emerging challenges of COVID-19. They provided South Australians with accurate results and a strong level of assurance in the most uncertain of times. We thank those who have worked long hours in the morning, late at night, throughout weekends, including multiple double shifts.

Throughout the Marshall Liberal government's term, South Australians have seen attack after attack on our public assets and the planned implementation of a large-scale privatisation agenda. SA Pathology was one of those assets facing the prospect of privatisation in 2019 as part of the Marshall government's proposed array of cuts. The now Malinauskas government recognised the importance of these assets and fought alongside Professions Australia against the proposed cuts and privatisation.

We are very fortunate that SA Pathology was saved. Without it, who knows how we would have fared responding to COVID-19. I can assure the house and South Australians that the Malinauskas government will continue to fight against privatisation and have committed to keeping SA Pathology in public hands.

Mrs HURN (Schubert) (11:41): I move to amend the motion as follows:

Delete paragraphs (b) and (c)

The motion would now read, 'That this house thank the hardworking pathologists, scientists, technicians and nurses for their amazing work looking after South Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic.'

SA Pathology and indeed all our frontline workers have been key to South Australia's success in battling the COVID-19 global pandemic. Their service and dedication have been paramount to our state's standing as one of the safest places in the world, and our testing regime really was the cornerstone of our success. In particular, I would like to acknowledge SA Pathology clinical lead Dr Tom Dodd, who led and implemented a world-leading, innovative regime which included many firsts.

People may forget this, but we were the first jurisdiction in the Southern Hemisphere to establish a drive-through testing clinic for COVID, second only in the world by a mere matter of days. In many instances we had testing rates that were amongst the highest in the world and that is something that we can all be very proud of. To put it simply, SA Pathology saved lives and so, too, did all our pathologists, our scientists, our technicians and nurses. On behalf of the opposition I would like to sincerely thank each and every one of them for their diligent work in looking after South Australians during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is a shame that the member for Gibson's motion politicises what is a truly important matter. The former Liberal government had no plans to privatise SA Pathology. Indeed, the motion as it stands is based on factual inaccuracies, so much so that the opposition simply could not support it without our amendments, and I suspect that the member knew that.

The SPEAKER: The amendment has been moved and seconded, but I am reminded, too, that other members may wish to make a contribution and, of course, those contributions may contemplate further amendments. However, in an earlier exchange with the member for Schubert there was not a member seeking the call, in which case it may be that we move immediately to that business. There being no other member seeking the call, if the member speaks, she closes debate.

S.E. ANDREWS (Gibson) (11:45): I oppose the amendment, and the motion should stand.

Amendment negatived; motion carried.

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