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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2017-11-28 Daily Xml
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Sleep Clinic

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (15:25): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Health questions about the Repat sleep clinic.

Leave granted.

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD: The last night of sleep studies at the Repat sleep clinic was Thursday 26 October 2017, just one month ago. The new sleep clinic, which is to be located at the Flinders Medical Centre, will not be ready until March 2018, I understand. The government may well have known that there was going to be some five months' delay between closing the Repat and offering the same sleep clinic services at Flinders Medical Centre, but I am advised that the employees weren't informed of this matter—at least some of them weren't—and in fact they were only recently notified about this change. In fact, I am aware of one person—but it may well be indicative of many staffers; that is, there may be more—who are now being offered piecemeal work hours which fall short of the hours offered at the Repat as it previously stood and which, of course, reduces the staffer's resulting wages significantly for what we are advised will be approximately five months, until the new Flinders Medical Centre laboratory is ready.

Our constituent made some inquiries some three years ago about converting to permanent part time—he was caught up in this situation—but was told to wait until the negotiations about the Repat future had been resolved. He became increasingly concerned about his future and the slow drawn-out process that was occurring, earlier this year, so he contacted the public sector union regarding his employment status. He was advised that, and I quote, 'SA Health is an exempt employer with regard to being compelled to change the status of long-serving employees from casual to full or part-time.' Despite this, some staff have been employed on rolling short-term casual contracts in that environment. My questions to the minister are:

1. How many patients attended the Repat sleep clinic, and where are they currently being treated, if they are being treated currently?

2. When did the government find out that there would be a five-month gap between the closure of the Repat sleep clinic and the opening of the Flinders Medical Centre sleep clinic?

3. What steps have been taken to ensure that staff are awarded appropriate working hours, and does that include trying to make up any loss of hours caused by the closure of the Repat?

4. For what reason is SA Health an exempt employer with regard to not being compelled to change the employment status of long-serving employees from casual to full or part-time?

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS (Minister for Health, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse) (15:27): Let me thank the Hon. Mr Hood for his important question. Let's start with a basic component of the honourable member's question, which I think is important to acknowledge; that is, of course, the movement off the Repat site of a number of services, including the sleep clinic that was previously located at the Repat facility.

Recently, as many would know or as all would know, we completed transferring services off the Repat site to other facilities around the state. That is all part of the government's policy, which has been a challenging one for members of the community in some instances, but part of the government's policy to really be serious about making the tough decisions that are required to be able to deliver high-quality public health services in high-quality public institutions.

We have seen that policy on show in a number of areas. I think the one that has obviously got the most attention is, of course, the new Royal Adelaide Hospital, an outstanding institution. But that often, because of its sheer size, gains a lot more notoriety than other investments the state government has made in brand-new facilities. Some of those facilities are in the southern area of Adelaide.

There is a very substantial investment that has occurred at the Flinders Medical Centre. In excess of $180 million, I am advised, has been expended on those facilities, including the building of a brand-new sleep clinic that will provide an improved service on what was the case at the Repat site, in brand-new facilities. Likewise with the Jamie Larcombe Centre around Ward 17, we have seen the Ward 17 services move off the Repat site and now be housed at a brand-new facility that cost approximately $15 million, I am advised, at the Jamie Larcombe Centre at Glenside.

I have spoken about that facility previously in this place, but even top brass officials from the Australian Defence Force speak incredibly highly of that facility delivering a brand-new level of service that hasn't been seen anywhere else in the nation when it comes to returned service men and women from our armed forces who suffer conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder.

In respect to the sleep clinic, I have received advice around some of the issues that the Hon. Mr Hood has raised. I understand that all sleep clinic services have been transitioned to the Flinders Medical Centre or the Noarlunga GP Plus. There was a period of approximately three weeks, I am advised, with no clinics to allow for the relocation, along with the administrative processes for appointments due to changing sites. I am advised that there wasn't any five-month gap. There had been a temporary reduction in sleep laboratory capacity due to the time required to build the new services. This is going out to tender on 4 December 2017.

To accommodate in the interim, there is now capacity for two sleep beds operating seven days per week at the Flinders Medical Centre and an additional five extra sets of ambulatory care equipment to provide more assessments in the home, provided, of course, that it is clinically appropriate. It is my understanding that there are no anticipated impacts to existing arrangements as part of the sleep services transferring to the Flinders Medical Centre or the Noarlunga GP Plus.

In respect to the employee's concerns or the industrial concerns that were raised by the Hon. Mr Hood, I make my office available to him. If he is willing to share the details of that individual, I am happy to make some particular inquiries in regard to that person's circumstances. Having said that, though, I can speak more generally around the fact that the government has been very keen to make sure that we retain the services of all those people who have something important to offer from the Repat site. The majority—in fact, the overwhelming majority—of those people who are working at the Repat site have been, I am advised, dispersed to other areas of the public health system, principally to Flinders because that's where a big component of the services are now delivered, but also to the Jamie Larcombe Centre.

That's been really, really important. Retaining the services of those key clinicians from the Repat is undoubtedly going to be instrumental when it comes to delivering a high-quality service that we want to see arrived at as a result of the government's investment. I think a good example of that, again, is the Jamie Larcombe Centre. Staff at Ward 17 are exceptional. You only need to speak to those veterans who have engaged with Ward 17 personnel—in some instances over a long period of time—to appreciate how lucky we are as a state to have in our employ men and women who are so dedicated to their important work.

The overwhelming majority of those personnel are, I am advised, now working at the Jamie Larcombe Centre. I understand that it was only a very small number that didn't transfer across, and I understand that was principally because of retirement, not any other reason. So, we are very glad that the overwhelming majority of people's services has been retained. That is good news for residents in southern Adelaide when they come to expect a high-quality standard of service in the public health system. However, in respect to the individual concern that has been raised, I make my office available to the Hon. Mr Hood to see if we can ensure that the right outcome occurs in that instance, if it's appropriate.

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