SA Health boosts spin doctors, spending $459,000 more on communications staff

SA Health is projected to spend almost $460,000 more on communications staff this year than under the former Labor government — despite the Liberals pledging to crackdown on departmental spending.

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SA Health is projected to spend almost $460,000 more on communications staff this year than under the former Labor government.

The increase has prompted an Opposition attack which is at odds with the Government’s crackdown on ministerial staff and departmental spending.

Figures tabled in State Parliament by Health Minister Stephen Wade show communications and promotions staff will increase by 5.36 full-time equivalents in 2018-19 compared to the previous year, costing taxpayers an additional $459,534.

SA Health is projected to employ 46.5 FTE communications staff in 2018-19, at a total cost of $4.8 million.

Opposition health spokesman Chris Picton said the boost was “breathtaking hypocrisy” from a government that had pledged to crackdown on the money spent on spin doctors.

Opposition health spokesman Chris Picton. Picture: David Mariuz/AAP

Minister for Health and Wellbeing Stephen Wade. Picture: Matt Turner

But the Government has defended its record, pointing to budget savings of almost $20 million across four years by cutting 49 ministerial staff and “spin doctors”.

Mr Picton said SA Health were prioritising “spin doctors instead of real doctors” despite “record hospital ramping” and cuts to the health budget, echoing the rhetoric Mr Lucas used in announcing the ministerial staff cuts last year.

“Tomorrow, two SHINE SA sexual health clinics will close with the Government cruelly cutting funding to these vital services — yet they can find the money for an extra five spin doctors in SA Health,” Mr Picton said.

“This is a government that has got its priorities wrong — they make cuts to save money to spend on spin to explain their cuts.”

Treasurer Rob Lucasannounced a plan to slash ministerial staffers in the lead up to last year’s state election, saying there was an “excessive number of ministerial staff and spin doctors”.

Mr Lucas did not comment directly on the increase in Health SA communications staff, but said the Government had “kept its promise to cut ministerial staff and spin doctors”.

The biggest increase in staff is in the Southern Adelaide Local Health Network, where the number of staff will grow from 3.08 FTEs to 4.9, at an additional cost of $128,000.

Staff will also grow by 1.34 FTEs in the Central Adelaide Local Health Network and by one at the Women’s and Children’s Health Network.

The cost of communications staff at the SA Ambulance Service will grow by $235,000 despite still employing five FTEs.

An SA Health spokeswoman said it provides “important information to the community about our hospitals and health services, as well as urgent updates about issues such as salmonella outbreaks, water contamination and measles cases”.

“SA Health communications teams operate across the Department for Health and Wellbeing, SA Ambulance Service and six Local Health Networks to provide information to a workforce of around 40,000 people operating across several hundred health sites,” she said.