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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2017-10-18 Daily Xml
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Transforming Health

The Hon. S.G. WADE (14:25): Leaving aside the point that the government has had 10 years to plan this hospital, in relation to The QEH—

The Hon. P. Malinauskas: Despite your opposition, despite all your opposition.

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. S.G. WADE: Referring back to the minister's original answer, where he referred to, I understand, an implementation plan for the Premier's commitment in relation to The QEH, could he tell us what the government is actually implementing in relation to respiratory beds in The QEH? Will the inpatient respiratory service at The QEH stay, and will they be the same number of beds as now?

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS (Minister for Health, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse) (14:26): Let me acknowledge the fact that the Hon. Mr Wade, in conjunction with the Leader of the Opposition, was down at The QEH recently announcing a policy, I think it was—I think you could call it a policy—with respect to the western suburbs and health services around it. Let me acknowledge that that policy announcement, largely or essentially, entirely replicates the government's already stated policy objective.

It is remarkable: they announce a policy and somehow think they deserve a bit of political kudos for it, when all they have done is essentially lifted exactly what it is we are already doing. I would have thought that the Hon. Mr Wade, who has been in this portfolio now for a substantial period of time, might have come up with at least one new idea.

I acknowledge that on one hand my remarks here do of course have a degree of hypocrisy to them, because I should acknowledge that the Liberal's policy with respect to The QEH is a substantial leap forward from where we have come in the past, because in the past, every time the government has announced a public policy position about modernising our health system, they have opposed it. They have opposed it all the way, and the new Royal Adelaide Hospital is probably the best example of that. They have been implacably opposed to our seeing a very substantial investment in a world-class hospital, so this represents a giant leap forward.

At least this time, when the government has announced a good policy with respect to health care in the western suburbs, they have had the wisdom not to oppose it but, rather, replicate it, so in that respect I applaud them. The government is in the process, as I have stated repeatedly in this place in recent time, of implementing our policy, which is to retain cardiac, oncology and respiratory services at The QEH.

We are in the process of implementing that plan, and we are doing it in conjunction with the advice that we are receiving from a broad range of clinicians, which I dare say the opposition has also done, since they have announced their policy in respect of The QEH. I dare say that they are receiving the same clinical advice as is the government. Why can I say or speculate about that with a degree of confidence? Because it is the exact same policy!

I suspect that the reason the Liberal Party's policy mirrors the government's policy is that, for once, they might be speaking to the same clinicians. That is a good thing. We are in government, however, which means that we are of course focused now on implementing that policy, and we are getting on with it hastily.

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