Calls for transparency as pressure builds on regional SA health system
Calls for more data as Mount Gambier hospital battles overcrowding
SASMOA says its members reported having 30 patients and 12 treatment areas at Mount Gambier hospital. (ABC South East SA: Bec Whetham)
In short:
The SA Salaried Medical Officers Association says more data should be made available on the pressure regional emergency departments are under.
The union's members reported severe overcapacity in Mount Gambier's ED last Wednesday.
What's next?
Health Minister Blair Boyer says he will consider making more data available.
There are concerns a lack of data on regional hospital demand is obscuring the strain the system is under, with reports an SA emergency department had twice as many patients as it did treatment spaces.
The SA Salaried Medical Officers Association (SASMOA), which represents doctors working in hospitals, said a code white should have been activated last Wednesday at the Mount Gambier hospital.
A code white is called when a hospital's emergency department reaches 125 per cent capacity.
SASMOA chief industrial officer Bernadette Mulholland said members at the hospital claimed they had 12 treatment spaces and 30 patients.
Ms Mulholland said that surge in demand would normally trigger an "escalation plan" that would help to decompress the ED and take pressure off the staff.
"When there's insufficient spaces it makes it difficult to see those acutely unwell patients in the emergency department," she said.
"It also increases the distress of not only the clinicians, but also the patients."
Bernadette Mulholland says more data is needed about the pressure on regional hospitals. (ABC News)
Data needed to solve problems
A publicly available dashboard tracks the status of Adelaide emergency departments, but does not include regional hospitals.
Ms Mulholland said that made it difficult to know whether incidents of overcapacity were anomalies or patterns.
"What would be useful to understand better the pressure on our rural hospitals, particularly our bigger rural hospitals like Mount Gambier, Gawler and Mount Barker, is to have those added to the dashboard," she said.
"It provides a better understanding for people in that rural community the type of pressure that is on the emergency department.
"That would give us some really good data to work with the [health] department and the government to ensure there is sufficient capacity in these hospitals."
Mount Gambier hospital is the largest public health facility in regional South Australia. (ABC South East SA: Bec Whetham)
SA Shadow Health Minister Jack Batty said he had heard anecdotal reports from patients about the pressure the health system is under.
"We know our doctors and nurses in the regions are doing an extraordinary job, but they're being stretched to breaking point by a hospital system that isn't coping," he said.
"If we can't properly identify the extent of the problem, how on earth are we going to plan for the solutions?"
Blair Boyer says a flu surge and aged care patients are putting pressure on hospitals. (ABC News: Daniel Taylor)
Statewide health strain
Health Minister Blair Boyer said presentations to EDs across the state had increased in recent weeks.
He said the number of patients waiting to be transferred from hospital beds to aged care facilities increased pressure on hospitals.
"You add on top of that we've had a spike in flu cases … it's those things that are driving this really high pressure we're seeing on our hospitals," he said.
"We are [also] seeing an increase in the people presenting who need care."
Waitlists for regional emergency departments are not displayed on the public dashboard. (ABC South East SA: Kate Hill)
Government data showed ED presentations at Mount Gambier hospital had increased each year since the 2020-21 financial year, including an increase from 27,351 in 2024-25 to 28,621 in the last financial year.
Mr Boyer said he would look at providing regional hospital data on the ED dashboard, but he would "have to be convinced it would provide value and change".
Limestone Coast Local Health Network acting CEO Kylie Williams said the the hospital was dealing with a "continued rise" in presentations.
She added that the hospital had increased clinical staff from 303 full-time equivalent positions to 354 in 2026.