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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-06-14 Daily Xml
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Women's and Children's Hospital

Ms HOOD (Adelaide) (14:16): My question is to the Premier. Can the Premier update the house in relation to recent news in respect to the Women's and Children's Hospital?

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Premier) (14:17): I would like to thank the member for Adelaide for her question. I am very grateful for her question. No doubt I know the member for Adelaide has a particular passion for healthcare service delivery in our city. The member for Adelaide has been a powerful advocate of a brand-new Women's and Children's Hospital in our state, and I very much look forward to that being delivered in due course.

We, of course, also know that we have an existing Women's and Children's Hospital that has had a degree of underinvestment in the past that this government is rectifying. In fact, back in 2018 I was advised by the Minister for Health that the former government was in receipt of important information from the College of Intensive Care Medicine saying, 'Here are a suite of actions that you need to actively contemplate in order to maintain the important training accreditation that is critical to the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit at the women's and kids'.'

Of course, that action was not taken to the extent that was required and the training accreditation at the Women's and Children's Hospital for the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit was compromised—was compromised—something that the shadow minister for health has been rather vocal about. This government has been committed from the moment that that news was drawn to our attention to addressing this, and we have made a number of policy decisions to ensure that the training accreditation is reattained at the Women's and Children's Hospital.

The Minister for Health and his team deserve extraordinary credit for making those decisions in conjunction with the Treasurer and the government. We have now seen to the recruitment of a number of additional full-time staff who are required to work in that unit with the view to getting that accreditation back. Then only yesterday the government announced that, in this year's state budget, $20 million of capital funding would be provided exclusively to the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit at the existing Women's and Children's Hospital with the view to getting that accreditation back.

Having made the announcement, yesterday the CEO of WCHN wrote to the College of Intensive Care Medicine. On receipt of the news about the government's plan to recruit more staff to invest in their unit, they wrote back today—24 hours later—and they have written here:

Dear Ms Gough,

Thank you for your correspondence dated 13th of June 2023 regarding progress on matters relating to the accreditation of training [at the PICU at the Women's and Children's Hospital].

We note there has been significant progress with an increase in registrar and consultant FTE, and a staged capital works plan for the PICU that is about to begin.

Given this…accreditation for paediatric general training…is effective immediately.

We have got the accreditation back at the Women's and Children's Hospital because of the decisions that the government is making in this budget and the one prior. So budgets matter, Mr Speaker.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: It turns out that budgets matter.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, member for Morialta!

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: While those opposite are running around with cardboard cut-outs, running around with cheap stunts, on this side of the house we are making the decisions to deliver better outcomes for the health of South Australians, and there are none more important than our young South Australians, the people we committed ourselves to looking after, the next generation.

Mr Brown interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Florey!

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: And this budget—in the space of 24 hours before the budget has already been announced—has got a win with the training accreditation back because this government delivers.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Point of order, sir.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Morialta on a point of order.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: The Premier quoted from a document and I seek that he now table it.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: With great pleasure, sir.

The SPEAKER: Very well.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Kaurna! Member for Newland! Member for Badcoe!

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, member for Chaffey! The document has been tabled, to be taken in and distributed.

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