The South Australian Government has outlined its response to the recommendations made in three external reports on potential savings and efficiency gains to the State’s health system.

 

State Minister for Health and Ageing, John Hill, said the system faced a number of challenges in the face of an ageing population and falling GST revenues, and that savings would have to be made.

 

“While the overall health budget will continue to increase, our target is to reduce the rate of the growth over the next four years (from 2012-13 to 2015-16) to 2 percent per annum,” Mr Hill said.

 

“The need to make efficiencies, whilst the overall budget is still growing, is to ensure that every dollar spent provides the greatest possible benefit to patients.

 

“Money saved by making these efficiency measures will help to fund the growing cost of providing health care in the future.”

 

The State Government has announced the following aims:

  • Ensure patients are not delayed when they are medically ready to leave hospital.
  • Pilot a new nurse and criteria-led hospital discharge model at FMC.
  •  Plan a new future for rehabilitation services, making best use of new and planned facilities at The Queen Elizabeth, Repatriation General and Modbury Hospitals.
  • Consult on a State-wide model for the training and education of staff. This will avoid duplication and enable staff to move more freely between sites
  •  Develop a faster transfer to sub-acute (non-urgent) beds.
  • Review the utilisation rate for acute services above national averages (as shown in the consultants’ reports) and use sub-acute services instead where appropriate.
  • Work with non-government organisations on smarter ways of delivering services.
  • Further downsize the central Department of Health and Ageing
  • Ensure SA Health increases its efforts to generate additional revenue
  • Improve rostering to reduce the overtime of medical staff

 

The Safe, Affordable, Quality Health Care response to the consultant reports, can be viewed on the SA Health website, www.sahealth.sa.gov.au