The rate of delays at hospitals for police officers bringing in offenders and patients has significantly improved under the Malinauskas Labor Government compared to the record high under the Liberals, new SAPOL data shows.
In 2021/22, when the Liberals were in power, police spent a record 1370 hours delayed at hospitals, and more than half of all police drop-offs were delayed.
That rate has fallen to less than a third (29 per cent) in 2023-24 under the Malinauskas Government.
That's despite a 47 per cent increase in the number of police transports to hospital over the same period, from 1725 in 2021-22 to 2538 in 2023-24.
There's also been a significant reduction in the number of delayed police offloads at hospitals – from 867 under the Liberals in 2021-22, down to 743 in 2023-24, despite a huge increase in arrivals.
This has allowed more police to be freed up to respond to other police matters in the community to keep South Australians safe.
The Liberals failed to invest in mental health and hospitals during their time in Government and let police spend a record high number of hours delayed at hospitals under their watch.
The Mental Health Co-Responder Program established under Labor in 2022 – which pairs a police officer with a mental health clinician to respond to mental health triple zero callouts – has been successful in providing better outcomes for people experiencing a mental health crisis.
Since the program began in September 2022, 86 per cent of patients – a total of 2,187 patients – have avoided hospitals. The program was established under Labor in September 2022 in northern Adelaide and expanded in 2023 to central Adelaide.
The Malinauskas Labor Government is building and opening 600 extra beds across our hospitals to increase capacity, including 108 new mental health beds scheduled to come online this year at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Flinders Medical Centre, Noarlunga Hospital, Modbury Hospital and Mount Gambier Hospital, while more are due to open in Elizabeth next year.
Further additional mental health beds are planned across the new Mount Barker and new Women's and Children's Hospitals.
A new 24/7 Paramedic Telehealth Clinician – Mental Health position was established as part of a $10.7 million expansion to SA Ambulance Service's Clinical Telephone Assessment team funded in the 2024-25 State Budget.
As put by Chris Picton
The facts are clear from the SAPOL data – police spent a record number of hours delayed at hospital under the Liberals' watch.
The former Liberal Government shamefully sat back and did nothing while police spent more hours than ever delayed at hospitals, instead of out on the beat keeping us safe.
That's a record 1370 hours that police lost in hospitals under the Liberals instead of responding to crime in the community.
Now, under the Malinauskas Labor Government, we have seen a sizeable reduction in not only the hours lost but also the number of times and the rate at which police are delayed at our hospitals compared to when the Liberals were in charge.
Unlike the Liberals, the Malinauskas Government is committed to building a bigger health system and investing in mental health. We're opening 600 extra beds across our hospitals, including more than 100 new mental health beds scheduled to come online this year.
Hospitals are not jails, and extended SAPOL attendance is sometimes necessary for managing potentially violent offenders for the protection of hospital staff and other patients.
As put by Dan Cregan
The hard fact is the Opposition did nothing when half of police offloads were stuck in hospitals under their watch and there was a record high in hours lost.
They should also look at SAPOL's own figures which show crime across the state has continued to decline year-on-year.
The Government is making the investments required to continue the improvements seen.
Police have been working closely with SA Health to ensure fewer handover delays. This work has, pleasingly, led to a significant reduction in the delay rate and the number of delay cases.
However, police are responding to more complex taskings and these require care and time to resolve.
The Mental Health Co-Responder Program is just one initiative delivering positive results while reducing pressure on both agencies.
