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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2019-10-30 Daily Xml
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Hospital Beds

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (14:29): If the minister won't reopen beds under record levels of ramping, what is needed for him to actually take action and direct the system to reopen beds? When will he do that?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:29): The honourable member wants me to reverse a decision that I actually think will help ease ramping, not exacerbate it.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! Minister, just wait until they quieten down.

The Hon. K.J. Maher: Hospitals would be better if it wasn't for all those patients.

The PRESIDENT: Leader of the Opposition, it's your question time. We can wait here until silence; the time can tick away.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: I believe that it's vital for our hospitals to build in more surge capacity. It's vital to stop ramping. A hospital does not work properly if it's packed to the rafters. It doesn't have the capacity to respond to surges when they come. Ramping is a symptom of a system that is not performing well, and one aspect of that is a lack of surge capacity. The 60 beds that the Central Adelaide Local Health Network is seeking to put on stand-by is to make sure that they have the surge capacity when patients present. This is not a new concept. We build in—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: I cannot hear the minister. Minister.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: We have put beds on stand-by over the Christmas and New Year periods in the past. It's been standard operational practice. Those beds will be available as needed. They are not closed, in spite of the ongoing propaganda of the members opposite. As always, we will treat patients as they present, but there are many better care options that will continue to be developed so that we can provide the most appropriate care in the most appropriate location.

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Ms Scriven, I am allowing one more supplementary on this.

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