Julia Farr Services

Extract from Hansard

Legislative Council
17 May 2001

Sandra Kanck
Deputy Leader Australian Democrats
Member of the Legislative Council

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The Hon. SANDRA KANCK: I seek leave to make an explanation before asking the Minister for Disability Services a question about waiting lists at Julia Farr Services.

The Hon. SANDRA KANCK: To date there has been much media focus on the waiting list for aged care beds. There are approximately 200 people waiting for beds and many of them are in the acute care sector of our hospitals which is expensive, not suitable for them and is placing strains on our health system. But according to board reports from Julia Farr Services there is an equally worrying trend of brain injured people waiting for beds who are currently occupying public hospital beds. Latest figures show that 21 people are currently on the Julia Farr Services waiting list. The average age of these people is 40. Eight of these people are in acute care. One of them has been in a public hospital since August 1999 waiting for a bed in Julia Farr Services.

Acute care beds are very expensive, but what is more concerning than the cost is that these people are not receiving the therapy they need. After a brain injury the body experiences contractions; for example, the hands become clawed, and to combat this regular therapy is needed. Acute care nursing in our hospitals is not designed for this. What is concerning is that Julia Farr Services could open up beds tomorrow and give these 21 people the appropriate care they need at a fraction of the cost of acute care in our hospitals. However, due to eight years of budget cuts-$14.5 million to be precise-Julia Farr Services has had to close 100 beds over that time. Closing these beds has meant that 350 staff members have lost their jobs and people are now on waiting lists to get in. My questions to the minister are:

1. How much does it cost to care for a brain injured person in the acute care sector per day?

2. How much does it cost to care for a similarly brain injured person in Julia Farr Services per day?

5. Will the minister consider providing funding to reopen beds at Julia Farr Services to reduce the current waiting list?

The Hon. R.D. LAWSON (Minister for Disability Services): I thank the honourable member for her question. She either deliberately or through ignorance exaggerates the situation at Julia Farr substantially. It is true that some years ago there were more than 700 people residing at the Julia Farr Centre at Fullarton. However, the number of residents at that campus has now been reduced to about 250, because people have been moved from a highly institutional setting to a far more suitable community setting. Julia Farr Services has opened community houses at Felixstow and Mitchell Park.

The government has established options coordination, which includes brain injuries option coordination and which is a specific service to support people with brain injury in the community. Not all people-whether brain injured or with other physical and neurological conditions-require the type of institutional care which is provided at Julia Farr Services. The Department of Human Services has recently conducted a rehabilitation review in which the rehabilitation needs of the entire South Australian community have been assessed and an appropriate blueprint laid down for the provision of those services.

As a result of the rehabilitation review, I anticipate that certain of the services now provided at Julia Farr Services will be provided more appropriately at the Hampstead Centre where rehabilitation services are already available. That has been the subject of extensive discussion and negotiation with the board and staff at Julia Farr Services, as well as with the unions involved in supporting staff members. It is my information that that move has been accepted as being in the best interests of those people. It is quite wrong to suggest that the funding for Julia Farr Services has been cut. In recent times, notwithstanding the claims of the Hon. Sandra Kanck and others, the budget allocation-

The Hon. R.D. LAWSON: You have a look at their annual reports. The budget allocation to Julia Farr Services has not been reduced but has remained at about $25 million; that is, $25 million per annum to support the 250 patients at a cost of approximately $100 000 per resident. I am advised that there are better and more appropriate ways of supporting many of the people who, in the past, have been supported at Julia Farr. The government-as is the board-is committed to ensuring that Julia Farr continues to provide appropriate service to the South Australian community, and that the board develops a blueprint which will provide a way forward.

I have been most concerned by the fact that at Julia Farr Services a very large five-storey building has remained vacant for the past 17 years I am told, yet the campus has not been appropriately developed. A number of issues at Julia Farr require addressing, and those matters are being addressed in consultation with the board and also the department.