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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2018-09-04 Daily Xml
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Port Augusta Hospital

The Hon. E.S. BOURKE (15:14): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question to the Minister for Health regarding the Port Augusta Hospital.

Leave granted.

The Hon. E.S. BOURKE: In an article published on The Transcontinental website on 27 July this year, it was reported the Port Augusta Hospital was down to 11 full-time equivalent GPs in a town nearing 14,000 people. The Australian Medical Association's Professor William Tam described the area not yet becoming a qualified area of medical workforce shortage as a flaw in the assessment from Canberra. My questions to the minister are:

1. Is the minister aware of the issue being raised in Port Augusta?

2. Has he been briefed or met with the Flinders and Far North Doctors Association to discuss these concerns?

3. What steps has the minster taken to approach his friends in Canberra to declare Port Augusta an area of medical workforce shortage?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (15:15): I am aware of the issue in relation to Port Augusta and that is a particular concern for the state government because GPs, at almost all of our country hospitals, are the main source of medical services to the hospital. Port Augusta is one of the hospitals where the sustainability of the medical services to the hospital is under stress, particularly because not all practices participate in the medical roster. I certainly have met with GPs from Port Augusta. My recollection is that it was before the last election rather than after it.

I have certainly been briefed on issues at Port Augusta and certainly the advice I have received is consistent with the honourable member's comments, which I understand were comments from the AMA, that it seems that the federal assessment of workforce need doesn't seem to reflect the reality on the ground at Port Augusta. My recollection is that I have written to my federal colleagues to raise that issue, but I will take that on notice and check my records.

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