❓ Opposition MP Mettam questions the Minister for Health regarding a Department of Health restructure, alleging it's a strategy to obscure ongoing health system challenges. The Minister defends the government's record on elective surgery and ramping, attributing improvements to their comprehensive plan and increased workforce.
AnsweredQoN 876Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
HEALTH SYSTEM — RESTRUCTURE
876. Ms L. METTAM to the Minister for Health:
I refer to the Minister for Health's
mismanagement of the health system, resulting in a 55 per cent increase in
elective surgery wait times, ambulance ramping hours blowing out to over 6 000
hours last month, together with the lowest number of public hospital beds per
head of population.
Can the minister confirm the
restructure that she is undertaking of the Department of Health is a strategy
to obscure the ongoing challenges that have been created under her watch?
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please.
876. Ms L. METTAM to the Minister for Health:
I refer to the Minister for Health's
mismanagement of the health system, resulting in a 55 per cent increase in
elective surgery wait times, ambulance ramping hours blowing out to over 6 000
hours last month, together with the lowest number of public hospital beds per
head of population.
Can the minister confirm the
restructure that she is undertaking of the Department of Health is a strategy
to obscure the ongoing challenges that have been created under her watch?
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please.
AnswerView source ↗
With regard to the part of the
question that relates to the health system performance, we have had record
amounts of elective surgery over the last two years under this government. It
is not the number of people who are on the list; it is the amount of time that
they wait, and that waiting time is reducing. They are making huge inroads into
reducing that waiting time and seeing more and more people get their elective
surgery, which includes using the private sector. We now have a procurement
panel whereby the private sector is now delivering possibly more elective
surgery activity than it ever has. We have a comprehensive plan to tackle
pressures on emergency departments, and that plan is working. In the last
financial year, we have seen a reduction of those ramping hours.
That was my phone dropping—sorry!
We have seen a reduction of those
ramping hours. During a global workforce crisis, we have increased the clinical workforce by 30 per cent. It is about the
plan that we have, the reform and investment—that is what this
government is undertaking.
With regard to the Department of
Health, I am not sure whether the Leader of the Liberal Party had noticed but we have a new director general. The new director
general has a point of view—as she should—on what the structure of her department should be. The director general is implementing that point of
view, as is her right.
question that relates to the health system performance, we have had record
amounts of elective surgery over the last two years under this government. It
is not the number of people who are on the list; it is the amount of time that
they wait, and that waiting time is reducing. They are making huge inroads into
reducing that waiting time and seeing more and more people get their elective
surgery, which includes using the private sector. We now have a procurement
panel whereby the private sector is now delivering possibly more elective
surgery activity than it ever has. We have a comprehensive plan to tackle
pressures on emergency departments, and that plan is working. In the last
financial year, we have seen a reduction of those ramping hours.
That was my phone dropping—sorry!
We have seen a reduction of those
ramping hours. During a global workforce crisis, we have increased the clinical workforce by 30 per cent. It is about the
plan that we have, the reform and investment—that is what this
government is undertaking.
With regard to the Department of
Health, I am not sure whether the Leader of the Liberal Party had noticed but we have a new director general. The new director
general has a point of view—as she should—on what the structure of her department should be. The director general is implementing that point of
view, as is her right.
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.