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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2024-02-07 Daily Xml
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Patient Assistance Transport Scheme

Mr McBRIDE (MacKillop) (14:45): My question is to the Minister for Health. Will the minister consider adding taxi charges to the eligible reimbursements for the Patient Assistance Transport Scheme? Mr Speaker, with the leave of the house and yourself, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Mr McBRIDE: A constituent in MacKillop travelled to Adelaide on the bus to see a specialist. She then had to catch a taxi to the Flinders Medical Centre. While the bus fare was covered by the PAT Scheme, the taxi fare wasn't, leaving the constituent out of pocket.

The Hon. C.J. PICTON (Kaurna—Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:46): Thank you very much to the member for MacKillop. I thank him for his advocacy on behalf of his constituents and his very genuine interest in improving health outcomes for people who live in his electorate.

As the member knows, this is something on which the government has been taking action in relation to PATS in the almost two years that we have been in office; firstly, in terms of the most substantial increase in PATS that we have seen in a number of decades, with the doubling of the fuel subsidy rate that has provided help for many thousands of people across South Australia. In fact, 16,580 clients received $9.4 million in travel and accommodation assistance in the past financial year through PATS.

In relation to this particular example of whether taxi fares in the Adelaide metropolitan area could be eligible, that is not something that has been raised with me before. I am very happy to explore that and to talk further with the member for MacKillop around his constituent's particular experience, and whether that is something that the government could contemplate in further reforms to be considered over time in relation to the PAT Scheme, because we know that this is a very important scheme for many South Australians to make sure that they can get assistance for the vital health care that they need.

I know there were similar issues raised last year by the member for Mount Gambier as well, in terms of the processing times for PATS. That was something that the government has taken very seriously. There have been additional staff put into the PATS team to make sure that those can be improved. In fact, I was just speaking recently to one of the staff members who works there who was saying that they have been making good strides in terms of reducing those processing times. I thank the member for Mount Gambier for raising that issue as well.

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