House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-03-07 Daily Xml

Contents

Hospital Supplies

Mrs HURN (Schubert) (14:19): My question is to the Minister for Health and Wellbeing. Are patients in our health system being supplied with towels to sleep on instead of pillows? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Mrs HURN: A father took to social media, stating that his son, who was at the Royal Adelaide Hospital for emergency surgery, was offered rolled-up towels instead of a pillow. However, the CEO of CALHN, Lesley Dwyer, stated on ABC radio on 3 March, 'We purchase about 2,000 new pillows each month to make sure we've got a good supply.'

The Hon. C.J. PICTON (Kaurna—Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:19): I think the member has answered her own question in the explanation, in that the CEO of the Royal Adelaide Hospital—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Hammond!

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: —has confirmed that there are sufficient numbers of pillows at that hospital.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: As was the case under the previous government as well, clearly there are times in which getting those supplies—

Mrs Hurn interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Schubert!

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: —from the central area in the hospital to the wards—that there are issues that occur. There are countless examples where that happened under the previous government as well. In fact, I noticed a lot of the responses, when the member raised this last week, were saying, 'Well, this happened to me two years ago or three years ago.' Clearly there are significant supplies of pillows. Clearly, the CEO of the hospital has made that very clear. They have made clear that they will be looking into the case of what happened on that particular ward, in terms of why that pillow wasn't able to get from the central area of the hospital to that ward. But I think there has been a very clear answer that the member foreshadowed in her actual question as well.