Michelle Daw, Yorke Peninsula Country Times
Wallaroo Hospital should be reclassified to reflect its status as the major hospital in the Yorke and Northern Local Health Network area.
That is one of the specific requests in the petition led by Member for Narungga Fraser Ellis calling for better health services in the electorate, which was signed by 10,688 people and presented to the South Australian Parliament in November.
Mr Ellis said he is concerned Port Pirie Hospital is staffed at a higher classification level than Wallaroo Hospital, despite Wallaroo’s catchment area servicing a larger population (estimated at 35,000 people) than Port Pirie (20,000).
“Wallaroo Hospital must be elevated to at least equal status to Port Pirie Hospital to meet the needs of its catchment population, rather than (it) being based on historical statistics,” he said.
“It is frustrating that Port Pirie Hospital appears to be deemed the major health facility in the YNLHN, and that Wallaroo is inaccurately classified and resourced as a second-tier facility.”
Mr Ellis said Port Pirie Hospital has 52 beds compared with 21 beds at Wallaroo Hospital.
Port Pirie Hospital is also resourced at a higher level than Wallaroo Hospital for emergency services, medical in-patient services and cancer.
“Additionally, the Yorke Peninsula/Copper Coast area attracts an estimated 400,000 tourists annually, any of whom can require medical attention, compared with Port Pirie’s estimated 200,000 visitors,” Mr Ellis said.
“Also, the Wallaroo service catchment area (population) is forecast to increase by 11 per cent in the next four years.”
Figures released by Plan SA in June 2023 show that, under a medium growth projection, the population of the Mid North, including Port Pirie, is expected to grow by 1442 people between 2021 and 2041 to reach 42,729.
During the same period, YP’s population is forecast to grow by 6465 to a total of 43,344, also under a medium growth projection.
Mr Ellis said funding for regional health services and hospitals should be based on the number of people living in their catchment areas, rather than the number of times people had accessed these services in the past.
“The shortcomings of the activity-based funding model means regional hospitals are never given the proper level of support,” he said.
“Potential patients are often turned away, redirected or not recorded for a variety of reasons which means bureaucrats aren’t aware of the needs and demands of our hospitals.
“Local activity cannot be measured when patients are attending metropolitan health facilities due to the inability to receive the treatment they seek locally.”
The petition also calls for the city of Port Pirie to be rezoned from YNLHN into Flinders and Upper North Local Health Network to improve the allocation of resources for all hospitals and services within the Narungga electorate.
“YNLHN has the second highest population of the networks (75,324) and easily the highest number of hospitals within it (16),” Mr Ellis said.
“In comparison, the neighbouring FUNLHN has nearly half as many people to serve (43,782) and only six public hospitals as opposed to 16.”
Mr Ellis said rezoning Port Pirie to the FUNLHN would ensure Wallaroo Hospital is recognised and appropriately resourced as a major hospital within the YNLHN and give the YNLHN board a more manageable task.
It would also result in better outcomes for the Yorketown and Maitland Hospitals, Minlaton Health Service and Ardrossan Community Hospital.
This article appeared in the Yorke Peninsula Country Times, 5 December 2023.
