The South Australian Government did not properly consider feedback from war veterans on its Transforming Health Plan, according to a prominent member of the veteran community.
After receiving more than 5,000 public submissions, the Government made three changes to the controversial plan – one of them to keep Noarlunga Hospital’s emergency department on site.
But the Government did not back down on plans to close the Repatriation General Hospital at Daw Park and Veterans SA director Bill Denny questioned if three weeks was enough time for it to consider submissions.
“Veterans spent weeks pulling these submissions together and it’s impossible the Government could have considered them all,” he said.
“To make these announcements now … I would regard it as extraordinarily disrespectful and dismissive of the veteran community.”
Health Minister Jack Snelling said the Government had listened and wanted non-government health services to stay on the repat site, including aged care facilities.
“They’re doing some great work with regard to aged care patients and getting them back home and rehabilitation,” he said.
“We’re very very keen to see those kinds of services expand on that site and we’ll have a separate process with regard to the continued use of that site.
“We’ve given an undertaking that the chapel and the heritage aspects of the site will be protected and we’ll consult with veterans.”
Backdown welcomed by Nursing and Midwifery Federation
The Government had also planned to move Noarlunga Hospital’s emergency department in Adelaide’s southern suburbs to a nearby GP Plus clinic but withdrew that plan.
A planned shift of neonatal services from Flinders Medical Centre in Adelaide’s south to the Adelaide Women’s and Children’s Hospital was also withdrawn.
Rob Bonner, from the Nursing and Midwifery Federation SA branch, welcomed the changes but wanted more detail about how the plan would be implemented.
“I think people are expecting some of this stuff to happen overnight, as soon as the plan is endorsed, whereas it’s sort of a three to four-year roll-out of reforms and that needs to be better understood,” he said.
“Obviously our members at the Repatriation Hospital would be incredibly disappointed that their protests of a closure have not fallen on more futile ground.
“But even there, there’s been some improvements with the mental health unit moving to Flinders as a single whole unit, rather than being split up.”
SA Salaried Medical Officers Association senior industrial officer Bernadette Mulholland said workers at the Repatriation Hospital might start looking for other jobs regardless of services being relocated.
“People will move elsewhere,” she said.
“Even if the site remains open for a period of time, the services may not because there will be a leakage whilst clinicians look for other jobs elsewhere.”