❓ Hon Adele Farina questions the Minister for Health regarding pathology service hours at Bunbury Hospital, specifically concerning overnight stays in the emergency department due to limited pathology availability. The Minister acknowledges the issue and states that options for expanding point-of-care testing are being investigated.
AnsweredQoN 678Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
BUNBURY HOSPITAL — PATHOLOGY SERVICES
678. Hon ADELE FARINA to the parliamentary secretary
representing the Minister for Health:
I refer to
pathology services at Bunbury regional hospital.
(1) Does the
minister think it is reasonable that a patient presenting at Bunbury Hospital
emergency department in the evening with chest pains has to remain in the ED
overnight due to pathology closing at midnight and blood test results not being
available until the following morning?
(2) Does the
minister think it is the best use of emergency beds, limited staff resources
and public moneys to hold a patient overnight in emergency as opposed to
providing a 24-hour pathology service at the hospital?
(3) Will the
minister undertake to provide a 24-hour pathology service at Bunbury Hospital?
678. Hon ADELE FARINA to the parliamentary secretary
representing the Minister for Health:
I refer to
pathology services at Bunbury regional hospital.
(1) Does the
minister think it is reasonable that a patient presenting at Bunbury Hospital
emergency department in the evening with chest pains has to remain in the ED
overnight due to pathology closing at midnight and blood test results not being
available until the following morning?
(2) Does the
minister think it is the best use of emergency beds, limited staff resources
and public moneys to hold a patient overnight in emergency as opposed to
providing a 24-hour pathology service at the hospital?
(3) Will the
minister undertake to provide a 24-hour pathology service at Bunbury Hospital?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for some notice
of this question. The following information has been provided to me by the
Minister for Health —
(1) The pathology
department—PathWest—at Bunbury Hospital is currently open from
0800 hours to 2300 hours, seven days a week. Urgent pathology can be processed
out of these hours when on-call staff are called in to process these requests.
Bunbury Hospital emergency department has point-of-care testing for a range of
pathologies located in the ED and the intensive care unit. Bunbury Hospital is
currently investigating the options for expanding the POCT to include the test
necessary for excluding cardiac events within the ED.
(2) Decisions
regarding whether a patient is admitted overnight to the ED, or on-call staff
are called in to provide an urgent pathology service, are made on a
case-by-case basis by the senior treating doctor, according to a patient's
clinical need.
(3) This is
under consideration by WA Health, but the extension of the POCT will assist in
alleviating such incidents.
of this question. The following information has been provided to me by the
Minister for Health —
(1) The pathology
department—PathWest—at Bunbury Hospital is currently open from
0800 hours to 2300 hours, seven days a week. Urgent pathology can be processed
out of these hours when on-call staff are called in to process these requests.
Bunbury Hospital emergency department has point-of-care testing for a range of
pathologies located in the ED and the intensive care unit. Bunbury Hospital is
currently investigating the options for expanding the POCT to include the test
necessary for excluding cardiac events within the ED.
(2) Decisions
regarding whether a patient is admitted overnight to the ED, or on-call staff
are called in to provide an urgent pathology service, are made on a
case-by-case basis by the senior treating doctor, according to a patient's
clinical need.
(3) This is
under consideration by WA Health, but the extension of the POCT will assist in
alleviating such incidents.
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