❓ Mr. Cook questions the Minister for Health regarding 130 unfilled positions, potential hospital job cuts, and the impact on hospital demand. The Minister denies job cuts, stating that staffing levels will be maintained and adjustments negotiated if needed.
AnsweredQoN 593Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH — UNFILLED
VACANCIES
593. Mr R.H. COOK to the Minister for Health:
I refer to the 130 jobs that will not be filled in the
Department of Health, as asserted in the weekend media, and the Australian
Medical Association assertions that, ''We've had a very ugly
winter where there have been people again stuck on trolleys in corridors;
ambulance ramping has been at record levels; and there have clearly not been
enough beds or staff to deal with the patients appropriately.''
(1) What
specifically are the 130 jobs that will not be filled in the Department of
Health?
(2) Does the
minister accept that hospitals are already struggling to deal with demand
levels?
(3) Will the
minister guarantee that no hospital jobs will be cut as part of his ongoing
cuts to the health budget?
VACANCIES
593. Mr R.H. COOK to the Minister for Health:
I refer to the 130 jobs that will not be filled in the
Department of Health, as asserted in the weekend media, and the Australian
Medical Association assertions that, ''We've had a very ugly
winter where there have been people again stuck on trolleys in corridors;
ambulance ramping has been at record levels; and there have clearly not been
enough beds or staff to deal with the patients appropriately.''
(1) What
specifically are the 130 jobs that will not be filled in the Department of
Health?
(2) Does the
minister accept that hospitals are already struggling to deal with demand
levels?
(3) Will the
minister guarantee that no hospital jobs will be cut as part of his ongoing
cuts to the health budget?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the
member for the question.
(1)–(3)
I will start with the last bit first. Yes; there are no job cuts. That is not
what these changes to full-time equivalents are all about. They fix us at the
level of staff that we have. If someone retires, moves or goes somewhere else,
that person can be replaced. We are at the level of FTEs that we are at. What
happens with FTEs in health is that they vary enormously through the years. We
have periods where we have a surge in FTEs, particularly when we have new doctors
and nurses coming through, so at times we are above our FTE level. That is
balanced through the year by times when we are below it, as those numbers rise
and fall with the employment of graduating nurses and doctors. We have heard
from both the Treasurer and other sources about the ability to negotiate in
special circumstances as we go through. We do not have the need to do that at
this stage, but we will negotiate with the Treasurer if we need to. There are
no cuts in jobs.
Mr J.N. Hyde :
There are 1 500 people new to Perth every week.
Dr K.D. HAMES : He
asked the question, not you.
The hospital system has every bed being used and it has staff
who are employed throughout it to provide the services we need. We have people
leaving all the time and we have new people coming all the time. There is
something in the order of between 35 000 and 36 000 staff in the health system
at any one time. We need to remember that the numbers of staff in health who
will be affected are low. We are nowhere near the top of the number in other
areas. What we have is the number of staff that we have now; that is the level
we need to provide the service we need, and that is with all the beds occupied
and all the bed staff to provide the service we need. If we reach areas of difficulty,
we will negotiate that with the Treasurer.
member for the question.
(1)–(3)
I will start with the last bit first. Yes; there are no job cuts. That is not
what these changes to full-time equivalents are all about. They fix us at the
level of staff that we have. If someone retires, moves or goes somewhere else,
that person can be replaced. We are at the level of FTEs that we are at. What
happens with FTEs in health is that they vary enormously through the years. We
have periods where we have a surge in FTEs, particularly when we have new doctors
and nurses coming through, so at times we are above our FTE level. That is
balanced through the year by times when we are below it, as those numbers rise
and fall with the employment of graduating nurses and doctors. We have heard
from both the Treasurer and other sources about the ability to negotiate in
special circumstances as we go through. We do not have the need to do that at
this stage, but we will negotiate with the Treasurer if we need to. There are
no cuts in jobs.
Mr J.N. Hyde :
There are 1 500 people new to Perth every week.
Dr K.D. HAMES : He
asked the question, not you.
The hospital system has every bed being used and it has staff
who are employed throughout it to provide the services we need. We have people
leaving all the time and we have new people coming all the time. There is
something in the order of between 35 000 and 36 000 staff in the health system
at any one time. We need to remember that the numbers of staff in health who
will be affected are low. We are nowhere near the top of the number in other
areas. What we have is the number of staff that we have now; that is the level
we need to provide the service we need, and that is with all the beds occupied
and all the bed staff to provide the service we need. If we reach areas of difficulty,
we will negotiate that with the Treasurer.
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