The long-awaited prospect of renal dialysis services at Naracoorte Hospital has been formally recognised in the state government’s Draft Clinical Services Plan for the Limestone Coast.
Member for MacKillop Nick McBride raised the issue in Parliament earlier this month, calling on Health minister Chris Picton to update the House on the plan.
Mr McBride emphasised that renal dialysis for Naracoorte had been a long-standing request from constituents who faced the burden of travelling to Mount Gambier or Adelaide for treatment.
In response, Mr Picton praised Mr McBride’s advocacy and outlined the government’s ongoing investment in the hospital and wider regional health services.
“We committed, upon coming to government, to invest in Naracoorte Hospital—an $8 million investment,” the minister said.
“Those works are underway at the moment, investing in particularly the emergency department area, but also some of the key structural issues in the Naracoorte hospital that have been left to wilt for many, many decades, including a lift that was out of action and other significant infrastructure works that have needed to happen.
“We were always clear as part of this that we regarded this as really stage one of work that needed to happen at Naracoorte hospital, which is a key hospital for that particular region.”
Mr Picton said this was stage one of the works.
He said in the second budget, the government provided $1 million towards future planning, and that work, led by the Limestone Coast Local Health Network (LCLHN) with health planning experts Destravis, had resulted in the draft 10-year clinical services plan now before the community.
Renal services a priority
Renal dialysis has emerged as one of the most pressing service gaps in the region.
“In terms of what this will mean for the Naracoorte community, I think it does see the future expansion of some services in Naracoorte hospital, and it (plan) does specifically raise renal dialysis as an issue for Naracoorte,” Mr Picton said.
He said renal dialysis was an area that needed expansion right across the state.
“At the moment, we are undertaking a big expansion in the northern suburbs of Adelaide and there have been a number of regional expansions that have happened in recent years as well, but we know that there is going to have to be more that has to be done into the future for renal dialysis,” Mr Picton said.
The minister said the renal dialysis service was a sensible proposition for Naracoorte, and it had been identified in the plan as a medium-term priority.
Roadmap for regional health
According to the minister, the Draft Clinical Services Plan, released in July, sets out a decade-long roadmap for services across the Limestone Coast’s hospitals and community health system.
“That is part of the local health network’s commitment to providing those safe, high-quality services across the region,” Mr Picton said.
“Importantly, it looks at how we can adapt into the future as well—how things will be able to change with technology—and identify models of care that can provide contemporary care utilising the best practice models.”
Extensive consultation preceded the plan, with community and clinician engagement sessions held from February to April and face-to-face meetings in July in towns across the South East, including Millicent, Kingston, Keith, Bordertown, Penola, Mount Gambier and Naracoorte.
Mr Picton said feedback has been “very well received” and that the plan has generated “significant interest and welcome by the local community.”
Community impact
For Naracoorte residents, the inclusion of dialysis in the draft plan represents hope for greater access to lifesaving treatment closer to home.
In a front-page article published on May 13, 2025, this newspaper [The Naracoorte News] highlighted the hardships faced by local dialysis patients, particularly their concerns about the stress, time, and cost of travelling long distances to receive vital care.
Through the article, Naracoorte Lucindale mayor Patrick Ross also joined the call for an on-site dialysis service at the Naracoorte Hospital, saying this should be a priority of the LCLHN and the Health minister.
In the same article, Mr McBride stated that his Naracoorte electorate office had received numerous complaints and letters from concerned residents, all calling for dialysis services to be made available at Naracoorte Hospital.
“We have heard from a number of constituents from MacKillop that require these types of services, and we have also heard firsthand the difficulty of getting down to Mount Gambier for renal dialysis,” Mr McBride shared at the time of interview.
The minister confirmed that the Draft Clinical Services Plan will shape the next stage of works at Naracoorte Hospital, beyond the current emergency department and infrastructure upgrades already underway.
This article appeared in The Naracoorte News, 24 September 2025.
