The decision to appoint the former administrators of the Whyalla steelworks to reduce public spending in two of South Australia's biggest hospitals shows the Government is intent on running the health system like a factory, the SA Opposition says.

Key points: The SA Government is considering extending its deal with former Whyalla steelworks administrator KordaMentha

The SA Government is considering extending its deal with former Whyalla steelworks administrator KordaMentha The administrator was called in earlier this year to reduce public health spending

The administrator was called in earlier this year to reduce public health spending The Opposition says it fears the health system is being treated like a factory, and that patient care will suffer

Before the September budget, Premier Steven Marshall announced administrators KordaMentha would develop a three-year financial recovery plan for the Central Adelaide Local Health Network.

The network includes the new $2.4 billion Royal Adelaide Hospital as well as the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

At the time, Mr Marshall said the move was necessary because of a "massive" budget overspend within the health system.

The Government has now revealed it may further extend its contract with KordaMentha, conceding such a measure would be costly but saying it could be necessary to reduce a forecast $375 million deficit.

But Opposition health spokesman Chris Picton said he feared that the financial turnaround at the Whyalla steelworks was being used as a blueprint to reduce spending in public hospitals.

"We asked, in [budget] estimates, the Government 'why have you appointed KordaMentha given they've got no background in patient care?'," Mr Picton said.

"They said 'well we looked at what they did with the steelworks at Whyalla'. Now that's a completely different situation. There's clearly no connection between that and running some of our biggest hospitals.

"The health system should be there to look after patients. It's not ultimately the same as running a factory or running a steel plant."

Administrators KordaMentha were called in to help save the Whyalla steelworks. ( ABC News: Nick Harmsen )

Mr Picton called on Treasurer Rob Lucas to release a report prepared by KordaMentha into public health finances.

Mr Lucas said the decision on whether to release it ultimately rested with Health Minister Stephen Wade who, he said, had "indicated most of that will be shared with the public".

"What the Government will have to consider is, once we receive the next report from Korda Mentha, what ongoing role there might be for either Korda Mentha or someone similar — we'd have to make a decision about that — to try and take control of the financial issues," he said.

"It'll be an expensive option, but if you're having to spend money on financial advisers like KordaMentha or others. If you can save some or a lot of that $300-400 million a year, it'll be money well spent."

Mr Lucas said the Central Adelaide Local Health Network had "haemorrhaged" money for years.

"This particular part of SA Health has been overspending by between $50-150 million for four or five years," he said.

"In the last two years it's ballooned to $200 [million], to $300 [million] and it's now heading towards $400 million."

Labor concedes need for efficiencies 'where appropriate'

In his first budget speech in 17 years, Mr Lucas said the state's finances at the time of the March election were like "an episode of Breaking Bad" and characterised by "mayhem" and "deception".

Mr Picton said while "efficiencies need to be found where they're appropriate", slashing health system spending would lead to more ramping.

The Opposition says ramping will worsen if cuts are implemented. ( ABC News: Eugene Boisvert )

"The savings and the cuts that Rob Lucas is proposing to make are going to directly impact doctors, nurses, beds," he said.

"Health is getting more and more expensive, but in this year's budget the Treasurer's proposing that the Central Adelaide Local Health Network go down in their spending, and that goes against a global trend of increasing health costs.

"The costs in our healthcare system are not from people with colds and flus, they're people with more serious ailments.

"The vast majority, well over 50 per cent, of what's being spent in health is on doctors and nurses and other health professionals."

Mr Lucas blamed the previous Labor government for the huge blowouts in the health system, saying it had allowed a culture in which spending was "spiralling out of control".

"The taxpayers of South Australia just can't accept a situation where more than $300-400 million a year is being overspent without any culture of reining in that particular spending," he said.