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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2020-03-05 Daily Xml
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Coronavirus

The Hon. F. PANGALLO (14:38): Supplementary: well, in fact it is a question that the minister didn't get to. The last one was: in light of a death in an aged-care facility interstate, can the minister give us an update on any measures that SA Health is recommending to aged-care facilities in South Australia?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:38): Again, in relation to the general government's residential aged-care facilities, this is an area that is more directly overseen by the commonwealth government. At the COAG Health Council last Friday, residential aged care was a particular area of focus because it's seen as a particular area of risk. That risk was very sadly brought home to us in the last couple of days with confirmed cases and deaths in a residential aged-care facility in New South Wales.

It has certainly also been discussed since the very earliest teleconferences of COAG Health Council ministers and, following one of those discussions, the Chief Medical Officer wrote to residential aged-care facilities on 26 February in a bulletin called 'Residential aged care infection control and emergency planning'. Likewise, this week, in a communication dated 2 March 2020, Janet Anderson, the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commissioner, also wrote to aged-care facilities about responding to the coronavirus.

Certainly, SA Health has already been active in supporting residential aged-care facilities in responding to and preparing for coronavirus. In that regard, I would particularly like to play tribute to the work done by the South Australian Ambulance Service. Yesterday was Ambulance Appreciation Day and I had the privilege of recognising the service of John Noble, an ambulance officer who was the inaugural SAAS legend. That was awarded last Saturday night.

John Noble is an extended care paramedic. Extended care paramedics are exactly the cohort of our Ambulance Service that delivers the support to Border Force at the airports and extended care paramedics are also exactly the cohort of our ambulance workforce that provides support to residential facilities. Normally, it is in relation to outbreaks of gastroenteritis, but I would expect that they will have a role in terms of supporting residential aged-care facilities.

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