❓ Mr Catania raises concerns about COVID-19 testing access in Yalgoo, particularly regarding a case where a family had to travel to a mine site for a PCR test. He questions the availability of nursing staff at the Yalgoo nursing post. The Minister acknowledges staffing challenges but commits to funding and support.
AnsweredQoN 95Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
CORONAVIRUS — TESTING — YALGOO
95. Mr V.A. CATANIA to the Minister for Health:
I refer to concerning reports of a COVID-19
case in Yalgoo and comments from the shire president, Greg Payne, who said that after failing to obtain a PCR test
locally, the family had to drive to a mine site for their son to be tested , highlighting the vulnerability of the local
health system facing the threat of an outbreak. Yalgoo shire representatives raised concerns directly to the minister and her predecessor for the past five
years about the ongoing closures of the nursing post. Will the minister commit
to ensuring that Yalgoo has at least one nurse present at the nursing post
during the working week plus one nurse for emergencies over the weekend?
95. Mr V.A. CATANIA to the Minister for Health:
I refer to concerning reports of a COVID-19
case in Yalgoo and comments from the shire president, Greg Payne, who said that after failing to obtain a PCR test
locally, the family had to drive to a mine site for their son to be tested , highlighting the vulnerability of the local
health system facing the threat of an outbreak. Yalgoo shire representatives raised concerns directly to the minister and her predecessor for the past five
years about the ongoing closures of the nursing post. Will the minister commit
to ensuring that Yalgoo has at least one nurse present at the nursing post
during the working week plus one nurse for emergencies over the weekend?
AnswerView source ↗
The gentleman in question
experienced some difficulties accessing a PCR test when he had been directed by
the Department of Health or the public health team to confirm a positive rapid
antigen test. There are a couple of aspects to that question and those
circumstances. The first is that the nursing post was not staffed at the time
that he went there. There is funding in the budget to staff the nursing post.
There are challenges in filling those roles. That is the reality across a range
of remote posts. We fully commit to providing the funding and doing absolutely
everything we can. I know the WA Country Health Service does everything it can
to ensure that those posts are staffed. It is a challenging area to staff; the
presentations are around 0.8 per day and it is extremely challenging. I am not
going to shy away from that. But the funding is there, and we commit to doing
the work.
There is sometimes unplanned leave
when the individual staffing that post is unable to staff the post. There are alternatives for regional communities. In this
instance, the gentleman was required to do a RAT, and he did the right thing. He contacted the health team and they asked him to go and do a PCR. The
health team worked really closely; they bent over backwards to find the closest
PCR. They contacted Rio Tinto and made sure he was able to go to a Rio site and get that PCR test, and not have to
drive further to a public testing facility. The public health team did everything they could to accommodate the gentleman.
It is appropriate now that RATs have
been approved as a diagnostic tool. If people are in a remote location and a PCR is not always available, the RAT can be
accepted as an appropriate diagnostic tool. We do not require people in
remote locations to drive hundreds of kilometres for a PCR test.
experienced some difficulties accessing a PCR test when he had been directed by
the Department of Health or the public health team to confirm a positive rapid
antigen test. There are a couple of aspects to that question and those
circumstances. The first is that the nursing post was not staffed at the time
that he went there. There is funding in the budget to staff the nursing post.
There are challenges in filling those roles. That is the reality across a range
of remote posts. We fully commit to providing the funding and doing absolutely
everything we can. I know the WA Country Health Service does everything it can
to ensure that those posts are staffed. It is a challenging area to staff; the
presentations are around 0.8 per day and it is extremely challenging. I am not
going to shy away from that. But the funding is there, and we commit to doing
the work.
There is sometimes unplanned leave
when the individual staffing that post is unable to staff the post. There are alternatives for regional communities. In this
instance, the gentleman was required to do a RAT, and he did the right thing. He contacted the health team and they asked him to go and do a PCR. The
health team worked really closely; they bent over backwards to find the closest
PCR. They contacted Rio Tinto and made sure he was able to go to a Rio site and get that PCR test, and not have to
drive further to a public testing facility. The public health team did everything they could to accommodate the gentleman.
It is appropriate now that RATs have
been approved as a diagnostic tool. If people are in a remote location and a PCR is not always available, the RAT can be
accepted as an appropriate diagnostic tool. We do not require people in
remote locations to drive hundreds of kilometres for a PCR test.
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