Ahead of the March 2018 Election, the State Liberals have launched a key health policy, ‘Better Prevention – A Healthy South Australia’ to strengthen and support community-wide health and prevention services.

The policy identifies activities that will help reduce the burden of disease, improve health outcomes, and get better value for health expenditure, and will play a vital role in the Stuart electorate and across regional South Australia.

Member for Stuart Dan van Holst Pellekaan said we need a better approach to preventative health care in the Stuart electorate.

“The health related challenges faced by people in regional South Australia are often completely different from those in metropolitan Adelaide,” said Mr van Holst Pellekaan.

“Through this policy, regional communities are given an opportunity to play a greater role in shaping preventative health for the benefit of individuals and their communities.

“There are many preventative health issues in regional South Australia and in the Stuart electorate, such as obesity, alcohol and drug misuse and increasing rates of diabetes and other chronic diseases.

“Effective prevention requires dedicated long-term action and through this policy, I’ll be working closely with the community to implement measures to address these health challenges.”

Key elements of the Liberal policy include:

• Providing proactive services such as health information, screening and vaccinations;
• Undertaking health and wellbeing monitoring, with annual reporting to Parliament on Preventative Health activity across South Australia, and in particular, across Government;
• Funding research that reflects community needs; and
• Establishing Wellbeing SA to provide leadership and coordination in prevention, health promotion and primary health care.

State Liberal Leader Steven Marshall said for every dollar invested in health promotion, it is estimated that $5 in hospital and associated costs can be saved and spent on other health initiatives.

“Labor thinks that you can ‘transform health’ by restructuring metropolitan hospitals. Real transformation in health comes when we support people to stay healthy, not wait until they are sick,” Mr Marshall.

“Preventable health conditions cost the community dearly. For example, obesity costs $120 billion a year in Australia.

“One of the preventative health initiatives announced as part of this policy is a Healthy Communities Program that will empower regional communities to roll-out local preventative health projects.

“We will put the wellbeing of South Australians first – at every stage of their lives.”