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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-09-14 Daily Xml
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Public Works Committee: New Norwood Ambulance Station

Mr BROWN (Florey) (11:48): I move:

That the 31st report of the committee, entitled New Norwood Ambulance Station, be noted.

The Department for Health and Wellbeing, or SA Health, proposes to establish a new Norwood ambulance station to provide a significant expansion of service delivery capacity and capabilities for the South Australian Ambulance Service (SAAS). This will enable SAAS to increase emergency responses across metropolitan Adelaide and surrounding regions. SAAS is the state's provider of emergency ambulance transport, clinical care and patient transport services. It operates 119 ambulance stations across South Australia and the MedSTAR emergency medical retrieval service at Adelaide Airport.

The project aligns to the SA Health strategic plan which aims for South Australians to experience the best health care in Australia by providing more services closer to where people live. The strategic plan ensures, firstly, that patient-centric emergency services are designed around community needs; secondly, that SAAS emergency preparedness and response capacity is commensurate with the state and national emergency management arrangements; and that ambulance services evolve in line with the health system.

The new station forms part of the state government's 2022 election commitment to improve the infrastructure, increase staffing and provide additional resources for SAAS. The entire program of works aims to deliver four new and four rebuilt ambulance stations, 10 upgraded ambulance stations, the purchasing of 36 new vehicles, and the recruitment of 350 additional staff.

The total investing budget for the project is $8.5 million, with the total budget to deliver the scope of the election commitment at $70 million. Construction is scheduled to commence in this quarter of 2023, with practical completion and commissioning in July 2024. The new ambulance station will act as a suburban hub for SAAS's Adelaide Eastern District and will house 16 paramedics and 12 emergency support service ambulance officers.

SAAS is experiencing increased demand in the eastern suburbs and this issue cannot be addressed within the existing stations. The new station will complement the current stations in Parkside and Campbelltown and will allow SAAS to improve its ambulance coverage and response directly in the Norwood and surrounding areas.

After a detailed investigation and consultation with SAAS and Renewal SA, the new ambulance station will be located at the intersection of Magill and Portrush roads. The locality of the station is important in addressing impacted response capabilities of the eastern suburbs. The relocation of the Royal Adelaide Hospital to the west of the city, in conjunction with the tram extension along North Terrace, has impacted response capabilities in this area.

Strain has been placed on service delivery in the eastern suburbs due to the requirement for some eastern suburbs crews to attend cases in the Adelaide CBD. The new Norwood ambulance station will address and improve response times for service delivery in the Norwood area through the provision of both new crewing and station in this high-demand area.

The configuration of the site, and the approach of ambulance vehicles utilising the adjacent road network, has strongly influenced the station design. All ambulance services will exit to the west of the site, giving access to Magill Road, which allows ambulances to reach their targeted area in any direction. The station's driveway and exit points have been designed to promote safe and quick traversing out of the site for operations with the main garage having a drive-through function so ambulances can enter and exit the building without restriction. The expected outcomes of the project include:

improved ambulance response coverage for consumers in the eastern suburbs;

increased capacity for additional crews and vehicles in order to meet increasing demand;

improved SAAS management capabilities;

enhanced consumer care;

additional and expanded SAAS service crew training facilities; and

the opportunity for expansion to meet future growth.

Plans submitted by SA Health detail the station will comprise key functional areas, including:

garage space for five ambulance vehicles and two light fleet vehicles;

a training room with seating for 40 persons;

office spaces, study room and meeting room;

a kitchen/dining room;

a crew rest room;

six personal work-rest break rooms for staff;

staff and visitor car parking spaces, including two accessible spaces; and

covered light fleet parking for eight vehicles.

The Department for Infrastructure and Transport have confirmed that a general building contractor will be appointed under a design and construct form of contract. SA Health asserts that the delivery of the project will follow the best principles for project procurement and management as advocated by the state government and construction industry authorities, and includes extensive consultation, management of a project program, and implementation of risk management strategies.

Ecological sustainable development strategies have been incorporated into the design, construction and operation of the new ambulance station. SA Health states that providing a facility with good environmental qualities will provide a positive environment and workplace for staff, patients and occupants, supporting better healthcare outcomes and improved wellbeing.

To enable successful delivery of the sustainable development aspirations of the project, an independent consultant will be appointed by SA Health. Design measures to support increased adaptability and changes of use with minimal impact during the building life have been incorporated and will include flexible engineering spaces, provisions for future electric vehicle charging stations and options for full or partial solar input.

SA Health states that engagement and clinical consultation has been a key theme throughout the feasibility and concept planning and will continue with various stakeholders during the design and construction process. Stakeholders include clinical and non-clinical staff, consumer reference groups and industrial bodies. Consultation with the local community is underway and will be supplemented by targeted letter drops and community engagement sessions.

The committee examined written and oral evidence in relation to the new Norwood ambulance station. Witnesses who appeared before the committee were Mr Tim Packer, the Executive Director of Infrastructure, Department for Health and Wellbeing; Mr John Harrison, the Director of Building Projects, Department for Infrastructure and Transport; and Mr Rob Elliott, the Chief Executive Officer of the South Australian Ambulance Service. I thank the witnesses for their time.

Based upon the evidence considered, and pursuant to section 12C of the Parliamentary Committees Act 1991, the Public Works Committee reports to parliament that it recommends the proposed public work.

Mrs HURN (Schubert) (11:54): I thank the honourable member for all the work that he does and, indeed, all members of the Public Works Committee in assessing what are really important projects for the people of South Australia.

I did find it particularly interesting that in the five minutes that the member had to talk about a health project there was not one single mention about improving ramping in South Australia, which does fly in the face of the number one election commitment that was made to the people of South Australia. In reflecting on that, I think it is important to put a bit of meat around the bones as to the current climate that patients and paramedics right across South Australia are having to endure on the watch of the health minister and our Premier here in this state.

If we reflect on the recent ramping results that were just released on the weekend, 3,721 hours were spent by South Australians and paramedics stuck outside our hospitals on the ramp waiting to be seen. That was in the last month alone, and in the last 18-month period, from March 2022 up until now, our South Australian patients and paramedics have spent nearly 60,000 hours stuck outside of our hospitals on the ramp. That is 6½ years—6½ years since the election of this Labor government, that our South Australian patients and paramedics have spent stuck outside of our hospital fighting against record ramping that this government has delivered.

If we reflect even further, because this is an important point, in the last 18 months, under this government, as I have mentioned, 60,000 hours have been spent stuck on the ramp. If you calculate the number of hours that South Australians spent ramping from March 2018 up until the election, it was 47,994 hours, so within a two-year period this government is on track to deliver the worst ramping results in the history of the state and deliver more ramping than the former government presided over in four years.

That is absolutely galling, and we have the government out there saying that this winter is better than last winter. Guess what they forgot to mention? They forgot to mention the fact that last winter was the worst ramping that South Australians have ever had to endure in the history of South Australia. It is absolutely galling that the minister can look South Australians in the eye and say, 'Don't worry, we've just delivered the second worst winter in the history of South Australia so we should all give ourselves a big old pat on the back.' What I say the government should be doing is knuckling down and delivering what the people of South Australia voted for and that is a fix to ramping.

We hope, just like the people in the electorate of Dunstan hope, that these types of projects will go some way to ensuring that the government can actually deliver what they promised, and that is a fix to ramping. The member for Dunstan, Steven Marshall, has been receiving a number of concerned calls from his local residents about some of the practical concerns, if you like, mainly around traffic management. I raised those at the Public Works Committee and I do hope that some of those things can be addressed. That is about increased traffic on Adelaide Street and Dover Street, and what the implications are going to be on parking. We also made reference to easy access into the city.

It is going to be really challenging, I believe, for paramedics to be able to head out of Adelaide Street and turn right across Magill Road. That is an extraordinarily busy intersection. It was an intersection that the former government sought to upgrade because of how much traffic actually goes through this area. These are just some of the practical elements that I do hope the government can deliver on. But, more broadly, the fact that ramping has skyrocketed in this state is an indictment on this Labor government. We do hope that these types of projects can ensure a fix, but we do fear that ramping is only going to get worse on the watch of this Labor government.

At the election, it was all well and good for the government to have their slogan and whack it up on posters right across South Australia, but this has to be the most profound element of overpromising and underdelivering that this state has ever seen. I think it is almost time for the health minister and the Premier to apologise to the people of South Australia or just admit that they actually cannot fix ramping and they went to the election with a fake promise. They misled the people of South Australia with what we now know was one of the worst ever scare campaigns that we have seen in the history of South Australia.

People want to see improvements in their health system. They do not want more spin from the government like they saw at the election. They want the government to get on with the job they were put in office to do, and that is indeed a fix to ramping. Right across South Australia, not just in Norwood, we have seen projects. We have seen projects for Woodville and we have seen projects in Edwardstown. I seek leave to continue my remarks.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.

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