❓ Mr. Zempilas questions the Minister for Health on ambulance ramping ahead of the winter flu season, citing concerning statistics. The Minister outlines government initiatives to address the complex issue, including increased hospital beds, emergency department expansions, and community care programs.
AnsweredQoN 64Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
Ambulance ramping
64. Mr Basil Zempilas to the Minister for Health:
The 2023–24 Australian
Medical Association report card on ambulance ramping, which I have here, showed
the number of patients waiting in an ambulance to get into an ER was still
double what it was five years ago, and that 67% of patients are not being
transferred within the 30-minute target timeframe.
Ahead of the winter
flu season, which will put more pressure on our overwhelmed hospitals, what is
the minister doing differently from her predecessors—
Ms Sabine Winton interjected.
Mr Basil Zempilas: Was there some other noise there?
The Speaker : No. Carry on.
Mr Basil Zempilas: Ahead of the winter flu season,
which will put more pressure on our overwhelmed hospitals, what is the minister
doing differently from her predecessors to address this crisis?
64. Mr Basil Zempilas to the Minister for Health:
The 2023–24 Australian
Medical Association report card on ambulance ramping, which I have here, showed
the number of patients waiting in an ambulance to get into an ER was still
double what it was five years ago, and that 67% of patients are not being
transferred within the 30-minute target timeframe.
Ahead of the winter
flu season, which will put more pressure on our overwhelmed hospitals, what is
the minister doing differently from her predecessors—
Ms Sabine Winton interjected.
Mr Basil Zempilas: Was there some other noise there?
The Speaker : No. Carry on.
Mr Basil Zempilas: Ahead of the winter flu season,
which will put more pressure on our overwhelmed hospitals, what is the minister
doing differently from her predecessors to address this crisis?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member
for the question. I am pleased to have the opportunity to talk about the work
that we are doing in respect of ambulance ramping. As the Leader of the
Opposition knows, this is an issue that is front of mind for this government
and one that it will continue to work on. I think it is really important to
understand that the causes of ambulance ramping are complex. There is no one
single cause; it is multifaceted. It occurs because of a range of things—like
the increased population, the ageing population and the fact that people are
presenting with more complex presentations to our emergency departments. We
have a solution around ramping that we have been working on and will continue
to work on.
As we have said in
this place before, our government since 2021 has put on another 800 new beds.
That is the equivalent of a brand-new tertiary hospital the size of Fiona
Stanley Hospital, and we have got hundreds more beds in the pipeline. We also
committed at the last state election to expanding emergency departments at both
Midland Health Campus and Royal Perth Hospital. We are also making sure that we
are modernising the health system. We are doing that through the WA Virtual
Emergency Department, or WAVED as we call it, which has already diverted
hundreds of patients from emergency into more appropriate care. Again, we have
an election commitment to do more in this area. The State Health Operations
Centre, which was stood up last year, is one way that we are going to ensure
that ambulances are diverted to the most appropriate emergency department for
their needs. We are also making sure that we are delivering more care in the
community through programs like Hospital in the Home, through our commitment to
the older adult health hubs and things like the urgent care clinics that are
being delivered in partnership with the Commonwealth. Finally, we are
delivering nation-leading aged-care reforms. It is $140 million on an—
Mr Basil Zempilas interjected.
The Speaker : Leader of
the Opposition!
Ms Meredith Hammat: It is a $140 million aged-care
package to support the sector to deliver more beds.
We have a
comprehensive program that we are implementing. We made a series of election
commitments so that we can do more and we are working on a program that will
address the increase in ramping. The causes are complex. Our approach is
multifaceted—
Mr Basil Zempilas interjected.
The Speaker : Leader of
the Opposition, you have asked the question. Listen to the response.
Ms Meredith Hammat: As I said, we have a plan that we
are delivering. We have made a series of election commitments that will help us
to do more in all the areas that we need to. We have been working on
implementing this plan. We will continue to do that. The causes are complex.
Our solution and our approach are multifaceted.
for the question. I am pleased to have the opportunity to talk about the work
that we are doing in respect of ambulance ramping. As the Leader of the
Opposition knows, this is an issue that is front of mind for this government
and one that it will continue to work on. I think it is really important to
understand that the causes of ambulance ramping are complex. There is no one
single cause; it is multifaceted. It occurs because of a range of things—like
the increased population, the ageing population and the fact that people are
presenting with more complex presentations to our emergency departments. We
have a solution around ramping that we have been working on and will continue
to work on.
As we have said in
this place before, our government since 2021 has put on another 800 new beds.
That is the equivalent of a brand-new tertiary hospital the size of Fiona
Stanley Hospital, and we have got hundreds more beds in the pipeline. We also
committed at the last state election to expanding emergency departments at both
Midland Health Campus and Royal Perth Hospital. We are also making sure that we
are modernising the health system. We are doing that through the WA Virtual
Emergency Department, or WAVED as we call it, which has already diverted
hundreds of patients from emergency into more appropriate care. Again, we have
an election commitment to do more in this area. The State Health Operations
Centre, which was stood up last year, is one way that we are going to ensure
that ambulances are diverted to the most appropriate emergency department for
their needs. We are also making sure that we are delivering more care in the
community through programs like Hospital in the Home, through our commitment to
the older adult health hubs and things like the urgent care clinics that are
being delivered in partnership with the Commonwealth. Finally, we are
delivering nation-leading aged-care reforms. It is $140 million on an—
Mr Basil Zempilas interjected.
The Speaker : Leader of
the Opposition!
Ms Meredith Hammat: It is a $140 million aged-care
package to support the sector to deliver more beds.
We have a
comprehensive program that we are implementing. We made a series of election
commitments so that we can do more and we are working on a program that will
address the increase in ramping. The causes are complex. Our approach is
multifaceted—
Mr Basil Zempilas interjected.
The Speaker : Leader of
the Opposition, you have asked the question. Listen to the response.
Ms Meredith Hammat: As I said, we have a plan that we
are delivering. We have made a series of election commitments that will help us
to do more in all the areas that we need to. We have been working on
implementing this plan. We will continue to do that. The causes are complex.
Our solution and our approach are multifaceted.
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