❓ Mr L'Estrange questions the Minister for Health about hospital bed shortages, staffing, funding, and infrastructure, following a physician's concerns. The Minister denies the need for intervention, citing increased efficiency and adequate funding.
AnsweredQoN 103Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
HOSPITALS —
EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS — STAFFING
103. Mr S.K. L'ESTRANGE to the Minister for Health:
I thank the minister for his answer,
which was, of course, that he does not accept the comment by the physician. As
a supplementary question, because the minister will not accept the finding of
that physician, will he immediately intervene to address the ward bed
shortages, emergency department staffing and funding requirements and
infrastructure needs of our public hospitals?
EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS — STAFFING
103. Mr S.K. L'ESTRANGE to the Minister for Health:
I thank the minister for his answer,
which was, of course, that he does not accept the comment by the physician. As
a supplementary question, because the minister will not accept the finding of
that physician, will he immediately intervene to address the ward bed
shortages, emergency department staffing and funding requirements and
infrastructure needs of our public hospitals?
AnswerView source ↗
No, I will not, because there is no
need to intervene. For the first time since activity-based funding was brought
into being, hospitals are becoming more efficient. They remain well funded,
commensurate with the needs of those hospitals. If there is a need to increase
those staffing levels, the health service providers go to the Department of
Health and they renegotiate the contract between them and the Department of
Health.
Dr M.D. Nahan interjected.
The SPEAKER : Leader of the
Opposition!
Mr R.H. COOK : I am advised
that there has been no reduction in staffing. I believe that, as one of our older
hospitals, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital is one hospital that we are
increasingly looking to for redevelopment, because, ultimately, it will become
more and more constrained because of the age of the infrastructure. But we
continue to do a good job. I remind all members that our emergency departments
are the best in the country.
need to intervene. For the first time since activity-based funding was brought
into being, hospitals are becoming more efficient. They remain well funded,
commensurate with the needs of those hospitals. If there is a need to increase
those staffing levels, the health service providers go to the Department of
Health and they renegotiate the contract between them and the Department of
Health.
Dr M.D. Nahan interjected.
The SPEAKER : Leader of the
Opposition!
Mr R.H. COOK : I am advised
that there has been no reduction in staffing. I believe that, as one of our older
hospitals, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital is one hospital that we are
increasingly looking to for redevelopment, because, ultimately, it will become
more and more constrained because of the age of the infrastructure. But we
continue to do a good job. I remind all members that our emergency departments
are the best in the country.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.