Oakden minister to quit politics

The former South Australian minister at the centre of the Oakden mental health facility scandal has announced she will not contest the March state election.

In a letter to Premier Jay Weatherill on Thursday, Lisa Vlahos - formerly the state's mental health minister - said the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption planned to release the findings of an investigation into abuse at the facility in the weeks before the election.

"While I expect no adverse finding, I am concerned that the timing of the release of this report could mean that my candidature could become a distraction at this most important time," she wrote.

After deciding to switch from the House of Assembly to the Legislative Council, Ms Vlahos was to be top of the Labor's Party's upper house ticket for the March 17 poll.

But she said she expected to become the target of a "lazy opposition looking to sneak into power under the (Nick) Xenophon swing".

Mr Weatherill said Ms Vlahos had made the right call.

"This must have been a difficult decision for Ms Vlahos to have made, but I believe it is the right one," he said.

"I thank her for her service."

Oakden was closed in 2017 by the state government after a report by the chief psychiatrist exposed failures in clinical governance, incidents of rough handling of patients, excessive use of restraints and a high level of injuries.

The ICAC inquiry is investigating whether any maladministration was involved in the running of the facility.

On Wednesday a Senate inquiry found that authorities took too long to respond to the mistreatment of dementia patients at Oakden.

Authorities were aware of issues as far back as 2008 and it was deeply concerning that warning signs such as unexplained bruising, medication mismanagement and falls were not investigated promptly, the inquiry said in an interim report.

"Many subsequent instances of abuse and neglect occurred as a direct result of those with the oversight responsibility not acting earlier," the report said.