Private contracts paper over public hospital dysfunction

The State Government’s move to outsource some elective surgery borders on a stunt to divert attention from ongoing problems in the public hospital system, writes Warren Jones.

Nurses withdraw threat to elective surgery

South Australian nurses have withdrawn threats to halt some elective or non-urgent surgery in Adelaide’s major public hospitals in a dispute about overcrowding.

Health Minister Stephen Wade. Photo: AAP/David Mariuz

Industrial action looming after SA hospital crisis meeting

Industrial action is looming across Adelaide’s public hospital network with unions calling for an urgent “circuit-breaker” to ease demand on emergency departments.

A time of high risk for SA's health system

The alarm issued by South Australian emergency department doctors this week underscores concerns of doctors across the system, writes AMA (SA) president William Tam.

Why hospitals are more dangerous in January

More things go wrong in hospitals in January. The Grattan Institute’s Stephen Duckett and Greg Moran explain why.

The freedom to die well

To be or not to be, isn’t the right question: it’s how in the last years, months or days of our lives, we choose to live.