Health Care (Ambulance Response Targets) Amendment Bill 2023 (SA)

South Australia Health Care (Ambulance Response Targets) Amendment Bill 2023 A Bill For An Act to amend the Health Care Act 2008.

Contents Part 1—Preliminary 1 Short title Part 2—Amendment of Health Care Act 2008 2 Insertion of section 53A 53A SAAS response targets etc

The Parliament of South Australia enacts as follows: Part 1—Preliminary 1—Short title This Act may be cited as the Health Care (Ambulance Response Targets) Amendment Act 2023.

Part 2—Amendment of Health Care Act 2008 2—Insertion of section 53A After section 53 insert: 53A—SAAS response targets etc (1) The Minister must ensure that, in the provision of ambulance services by SAAS under this Part— (a) at least 60% of priority 1 cases occurring in a month are responded to by an ambulance within 8 minutes (the priority 1 target); and (b) at least 95% of priority 2 cases occurring in a month are responded to by an ambulance within 16 minutes (the priority 2 target). (2) The Minister must, within 7 days of the end of each month, publish a report on a website determined by the Minister on the performance of ambulance services provided by SAAS in meeting the priority 1 target and priority 2 target in the month to which the report relates (and the report must include the percentage of priority 1 cases occurring in the month that were responded to by an ambulance within 8 minutes and the percentage of priority 2 cases occurring in the month that were responded to by an ambulance within 16 minutes). (3) The Minister must, within 6 sitting days after the publication of a report under subsection (2), cause a copy of the report to be laid before both Houses of Parliament. (4) In addition, if an OPSTAT white event occurs, the Minister must publish notice of the occurrence of the event on a website determined by the Minister as soon as is reasonably practicable after the event occurs. (5) In this section— built up area means— (a) Metropolitan Adelaide as defined by GRO Plan 639/93; or (b) the area within a 5 km radius of the centre of any town (other than Metropolitan Adelaide) in the State with a population of 10 000 persons or more; or (c) any other area prescribed by the regulations, but does not include any area excluded by the regulations; OPSTAT white event—an OPSTAT white event occurs when the operational capacity, capability or resources of SAAS in respect of the provision of ambulance services ceases to be sufficient to maintain effective service delivery for high acuity cases such that patient safety may be directly affected; priority 1 cases means cases (other than cases occurring outside a built up area) where it is determined that immediate life saving intervention is required in accordance with a patient triage system applied by SAAS; priority 2 cases means cases (other than cases occurring outside a built up area) where it is determined that significant intervention within 2 to 4 hours of reporting is required in accordance with a patient triage system applied by SAAS.