Michelle Daw, Yorke Peninsula Country Times

Recommendations to the South Australian Government to improve health services on Yorke Peninsula could be finalised within three months.

That’s the outlook from parliamentary Economic and Finance Committee chair and Member for Giles, Eddie Hughes, following the committee’s public hearings for the Inquiry on the Delivery of Health Services on the Yorke Peninsula in Yorketown and Wallaroo last week.

About 130 people attended the meeting held at Yorketown Town Hall on Thursday, March 27, and around 60 went to the Wallaroo Town Hall meeting the next day, with many individuals and representatives from organisations making passionate and sometimes heartbreaking presentations. 

Mr Hughes said, although there were some issues particular to southern or northern YP, there were common needs expressed for the entire region.

These included more ambulance and emergency services; increased hospital capacity; access to specialist medical services, including mental health; and availability of ancillary services such as X-rays and CT scans.

“I have lived in regional South Australia all of my life and the core issues of access and equity are incredibly important,” he said.

The written and verbal evidence presented to the inquiry would now be compiled and the committee would develop its recommendations, he said.

“Ultimately, the State Government will consider how to respond to those. 

“There’s a very clear message from the people of Yorke Peninsula that they want to see health services improved,” he said.

Standing up for the SYP

Rachel Hagan, Yorke Peninsula Country Times

About 130 southern Yorke Peninsula people filled the ground floor and balcony at Yorketown Town Hall to witness the SYP public hearing for the health services inquiry.

The Inquiry on the Delivery of Health Services on the Yorke Peninsula SYP hearing was held last Thursday, March 27.

Sitting as members of the Parliament South Australia Economic and Finance Committee were, Member for Giles Eddie Hughes, Member for Adelaide Lucy Hood, Member for Elder Nadia Clancy and Member for Morphett Stephen Patterson.

The hearing went for just over three hours and, from beginning to end, tension and anger could be felt throughout the room with many locals shouting their frustration at committee members before the hearing had begun.

This frustration was aggravated by sound issues, however Yorke Peninsula Council mayor Darren Braund and Member for Narungga Fraser Ellis fixed the issue with microphones and speakers, after the crowd berated speakers and the panel for not having adequate sound.

Mr Ellis said the turnout at Yorketown showed just how important the inquiry was to this community.

Though the SYP was calling out for more and better health care, Mr Ellis said none of this was a criticism of current healthcare workers, and instead an opportunity to highlight where improvements were needed.

“I know this is a complicated problem, but one in desperate need of a solution because we stand on the precipice of collapse as we speak,” Mr Ellis said.

During the hearing, almost 20 residents and professionals passionately presented their experiences with the healthcare system and pleaded for change to the panel.

See the full coverage in the issue.
This article appeared in Yorke Peninsula Country Times, 1 April 2025.