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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2024-03-06 Daily Xml
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Limestone Coast Health Services

The Hon. B.R. HOOD (15:40): I rise on behalf of the residents of the South-East, who have had their access to health services slashed by the Malinauskas state government. The latest victims of Labor's savage cuts to regional health services are the residents of Lucindale, Coonalpyn and Tintinara.

The Minister for Health and Wellbeing, in response to a question on this very topic two weeks ago in the other place, said that he would be happy to listen to the community's concerns about these changes. The minister has already had ample opportunity to listen when the whole cabinet visited the Limestone Coast less than five months ago. What was the point of their fly-in fly-out trip to the South-East if it were not to listen and act on the concerns of the community.

We know for a fact that regional health was a major topic of concern held by those who attended that town hall meeting, thanks to reporting by the local media. When local resident and owner of the local post office Geoff Robinson expressed his strong concerns about the cancellation of drop-in nursing services at the Lucindale Medical Centre, Minister Picton's answer was that this was done to spread appointments across the week when there was demand. As the Naracoorte Herald reported, the health minister responded to Mr Robinson saying:

Obviously it is important that we maintain those local nursing services for people in Lucindale and do it in a way which is going to get the most effective outcome.

If ripping nurses out of small regional towns is the most effective outcome, I hold grave concerns for what it means for the rest of our country communities. Robe-based GP David Senior, who visits Lucindale once a week, believes that the decision shows a lack of understanding of the work that Lucindale-based nurses do. Further highlighting the tin ear of this government, after listening to Mr Robinson's concerns, Minister Picton responded by saying, 'Obviously that's not meeting the expectations of Geoff, representing the community.'

Here we have an acknowledgement that the minister has known, for at least five months, about the changes to nursing services in Lucindale but has only recently committed to, again, listening to the community. The community has spoken, and they have done so loudly. The health minister can listen all he wants, but his lack of action so far shows that he is unwilling to intervene and act upon the concerns held by our regional communities.

Just in case the health minister is of the mistaken belief that this is just a beat-up by the Liberal Party, opposing government decisions for the sake of opposition, I can let him know that I was proactively reached out to by Lucindale disability advocate Ashley Reynolds. Ashley not only supports the other side of politics to me, he was, in fact, a Labor Party member and former unionist. Ashley was horrified to learn of the effective closure of the Lucindale nursing service, a closure that came with no consultation whatsoever with the local community.

It started with the removal of telephone nursing services, meaning calls for help and assistance went completely unanswered. He has personally had to ring the Naracoorte service multiple times for an appointment with a nurse in Lucindale but, invariably, none are available. Ashley has been a disability advocate for over 30 years and is very critical of this government's attempts to centralise health services in Naracoorte.

Arguably, he is most critical about the misappropriation of the well-founded law that is being used as an excuse to cut these service. This is Gayle's Law, which requires a second responder to attend with a nurse to out-of-hours or unscheduled call-outs in remote areas of South Australia. This is, unfortunately, being misappropriated as a justification for nursing service cuts in small towns.

Sadly, it is not only Lucindale that is reeling from these cuts in nursing services. The Tintinara Community Health Centre was closed without notice last year after being staffed by local nurses and open four hours every week day. It has also now become an appointment only service with nurses travelling from Murray Bridge if Tintinara residents cannot travel 80 kilometres to Meningie or 115 kilometres to Murray Bridge. Local residents in Coonalpyn are disgusted with the cuts to their nurses, with the local health network claiming it is being done to provide services in line with need. Thankfully, the Coorong District Council is taking up the fight to return nurses three days a week in their clinic.

This government's attempts to centralise services in small towns like Lucindale, Coonalpyn and Tintinara simply do not make sense, due to their geographical spread. Make no mistake: I am seriously concerned that this is Transforming Health 2.0. Country Health Connect could not be more disconnected from the local people they are there to help, thanks to this Malinauskas Labor government.

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