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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2017-09-26 Daily Xml
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Emergency Departments

The Hon. S.G. WADE (14:42): Supplementary question: in relation to which ones are temporary and which are not, can the minister advise whether the government is still postponing all non-urgent elective surgery.

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS (Minister for Health, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse) (14:42): As a result of the large undertaking on behalf of this government over recent years, of course we have seen an extraordinary improvement in regard to elective surgery performance here in South Australia. Some of the changes that were made under the leadership of my predecessor have resulted directly in improvements in terms of elective surgery waiting times, and of course the large amount of investment the state government has made throughout the public health system, principally in substantial capital investments, is realising some results. That is something that I think we can all be collectively proud of.

So, when it comes to elective surgery generally, we think things are heading in the right direction. With respect to the delay of elective surgeries generally as a result of the extraordinary pressure under which the system has been in recent weeks, that is something on which I am receiving ongoing and active advice. Naturally, where elective surgeries can be accommodated in a way that does not compromise the capacity for emergency departments to do their important work, that can be undertaken, but of course the opposite is equally true.

This is something that is still on a watch-and-wait scenario. We don't think we are out of the woods yet when it comes to the large number of presentations occurring in our emergency departments—I think that will take some time—but there is no doubt, from the advice I have received, that the measures that have been put in place more recently are making a contribution to alleviating the substantial stress on the system.

There is another point worth making in this context, and that is that this is not something we are seeing exclusively in South Australia. Most jurisdictions around the country are experiencing the extraordinary peaks in ED presentations on the back of an extraordinary flu season, and that is something that is not exclusive to South Australia. Certainly, I know we are observing what is occurring interstate and seeing whether there are learnings to be had out of that as well.

But, here in South Australia, we are not immune to what is being experienced around the country, and that is why all of us are committed to doing our level best to ensure we deal with these circumstances, while at the same time delivering the outstanding health care that South Australians have come to expect.

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