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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-11-16 Daily Xml
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Ardrossan Community Hospital

Mr ELLIS (Narungga) (14:40): I have a question for the Minister for Health. Will the government provide the same solution to Ardrossan Community Hospital that they did at Keith? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Mr ELLIS: When the Keith and district community hospital shut, the government stepped in with almost $10 million to transfer it to an SA Health facility. Ardrossan Community Hospital has currently shut only temporarily and is hopeful of similar treatment.

The Hon. C.J. PICTON (Kaurna—Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:40): I thank the member for Narungga for his question and his significant advocacy on behalf of residents for their health care on Yorke Peninsula. This is an issue in relation to the Ardrossan Community Hospital. For people who are not aware, this is a private hospital in Ardrossan. It is one of what was a number of private community hospitals based in regional areas. As the member makes reference to, the other very prominent version of that was in the member for MacKillop's electorate in Keith.

This government has gone through a process in relation to the Keith district hospital whereby it has now transitioned to be part of SA Health in the Limestone Coast Local Health Network. That was a very significant piece of work that the government undertook, working with the local health network, working with the Keith board and working across government agencies to enable that transition to happen a couple of months ago. I thank the member for MacKillop in that instance for his advocacy and support in relation to that transition.

We are aware that the Ardrossan Community Hospital is facing a number of difficulties. We have been providing support to the hospital that was started under the previous government and has continued under this government. I am advised in the order of $180,000 per year has been extended to the Ardrossan hospital, but we are certainly in discussions with the hospital and its board about its ongoing operations and ongoing viability.

We obviously want to make sure that there are community services, particularly health services, readily available right across country South Australia. Ardrossan Community Hospital, while the number of people who have been going there for hospital needs has been reducing, I am advised, in the order of approximately 60 per cent of separations over the past couple of years, it still has a very significant aged-care operation. Having been to the hospital, there are some million-dollar views outside that hospital.

We certainly want to work with the Ardrossan community board. Those discussions are ongoing with the Yorke and Northern Local Health Network and the board. I am very happy to make sure that we continue to keep the member for Narungga up to date as that work and those discussions progress. I would say that the government is open-minded to how we resolve these issues, but we are also mindful that what happened in relation to the Keith district hospital was a very long process to enable that solution to be found and implemented. These things will take a significant amount of work, looking at all the options working with the local board.

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