South Australian Labor Party Promises to Focus on Mental Health and Fix Ramping Crisis

General view of the Modbury Hospital in Adelaide, South Australia on July 21, 2021. Photo by Kelly Barnes/Getty Images

South Australian Labor Party Leader Peter Malinauskas has vowed to upgrade the South Australian health system through the addition of 300 hospital beds and 100 more doctors to prioritise mental health and reduce ramping if he is elected Premier in March.

The announcement came at Labor’s campaign launch on Sunday, where Malinauskas noted that included in the 300 new beds would be 98 allocated to mental health, an area which is suffering from a lack of resources according to Former Director of Mental Health at Central Adelaide Local Health Network, Professor John Mendoza.

“Excellent to see that Peter Malinauskas has made mental health the key plank in the Labor election launch. Fundamental to the wellbeing of SA to have a functional care system,” Mendoza said in a tweet.

The Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM) and the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) also welcomed the announcement, saying this investment would help relieve the pressure on emergency departments (ED) and healthcare workers.

 “SA’s mental health crisis is directly linked to blown out ED wait times and ambulance ramping. Many ED beds are consistently occupied by patients experiencing mental health issues,” they said.

Ramping refers to when paramedics are required to continue to care for patients instead of handing over clinical responsibility to the ED.