❓ Ms Mettam questions the Minister for Health about maintenance issues at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital. The Minister defends the government's investment in hospital maintenance and infrastructure, refuting claims of funding cuts.
AnsweredQoN 308Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital—Maintenance
308. Ms Libby Mettam to
the Minister for Health:
I refer to media
reports of over 1,000 maintenance and repair work orders at Sir Charles
Gairdner Hospital from January 2023 to May 2025.
(1) Has the minister now read through all the work
orders?
(2) Is it acceptable that doctors, nurses and
hospital staff should have to work in those conditions?
(3) Has the North Metropolitan Health Service or
the Department of Health raised with the minister the requirement for
additional maintenance and repair funding?
Mr Roger Cook: You're afraid of the member for
Perth, aren't you.
The Speaker: The Minister for Health.
Several members
interjected.
The Speaker: Members! Sorry, minister; just wait.
Several members interjected.
The Speaker: Members! If you want to have a little private
conversation, you are more than welcome to take it outside. Minister for
Health.
308. Ms Libby Mettam to
the Minister for Health:
I refer to media
reports of over 1,000 maintenance and repair work orders at Sir Charles
Gairdner Hospital from January 2023 to May 2025.
(1) Has the minister now read through all the work
orders?
(2) Is it acceptable that doctors, nurses and
hospital staff should have to work in those conditions?
(3) Has the North Metropolitan Health Service or
the Department of Health raised with the minister the requirement for
additional maintenance and repair funding?
Mr Roger Cook: You're afraid of the member for
Perth, aren't you.
The Speaker: The Minister for Health.
Several members
interjected.
The Speaker: Members! Sorry, minister; just wait.
Several members interjected.
The Speaker: Members! If you want to have a little private
conversation, you are more than welcome to take it outside. Minister for
Health.
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(3) Of course I am very happy to
respond, although I think it is important to note that we do have a Minister
for Health Infrastructure. It might surprise the member for Vasse to know that the
maintenance of infrastructure is one of his responsibilities.
Several members
interjected.
The Speaker: Members!
Ms Meredith Hammat: I am very happy, though, to talk
about the work that we are doing. We had an opportunity to talk about this
yesterday in question time. It is no secret that Charlies is an ageing hospital.
It is an important part—
Ms Libby Mettam: It is not new infrastructure,
minister.
Ms Meredith Hammat: It is an important part of our
health system, but it is ageing, so it does require maintenance from time to
time, as all buildings do.
Ms Sandra Brewer interjected.
The Speaker: Members, listen to the response.
Ms Meredith Hammat: Basically, as issues are identified,
the health services repair them. They undertake repairs, as we would expect
them to do. In doing that, they raise work orders—again, that is a very
normal process in any workplace and any setting—to highlight what those
issues are. Those work orders, in the ordinary course of business, are
investigated. Of course, there might be duplicates.
The member raised an
issue about maintenance spending. I think this is important, because we heard claims
from the opposition in this place yesterday about maintenance and repair
spending across our metropolitan health service providers. They claimed that it
had decreased since we came to government. We invited the member to share the
figures so that we could have a look at them, but she did not. She chose not to.
Ms Sandra Brewer interjected.
The Speaker: Member for Cottesloe, this is not your
question.
Ms Meredith Hammat: It is now clear why they did not. We
have undertaken a close look at the maintenance figures. In our first year of
government, the entire repair and maintenance investment across WA's four major
metropolitan health service providers was $69.6 million in 2016–17. That
increased to $92.9 million in 2023–24, an increase of 33%. One thing
the member might want to do is to have a closer look at the health services that
she counted. She might want to have a closer look at the annual reports, not
just for the North, South—
Several members
interjected.
The Speaker: Minister! Members!
Ms Meredith Hammat: They got it wrong. They would not
table their analysis, and no wonder, because they got it wrong. If they had had
a closer look, they would have seen the figures, not just in terms of what we
spend on maintenance, but also the $3.2 billion that we are spending on health
infrastructure, including the upgrades to Charlies; the $50 million for the new
emergency department at Charlies; and the $25 million for a 10-bed ICU pod. They
would have seen the amount of funding that we are putting into hospital
services. The last budget had a more than $800 million uplift just to meet
increased demand. I thank the member for the question but I again reject the
claims that she has made in this place about cuts to maintenance funding,
because they are wrong.
respond, although I think it is important to note that we do have a Minister
for Health Infrastructure. It might surprise the member for Vasse to know that the
maintenance of infrastructure is one of his responsibilities.
Several members
interjected.
The Speaker: Members!
Ms Meredith Hammat: I am very happy, though, to talk
about the work that we are doing. We had an opportunity to talk about this
yesterday in question time. It is no secret that Charlies is an ageing hospital.
It is an important part—
Ms Libby Mettam: It is not new infrastructure,
minister.
Ms Meredith Hammat: It is an important part of our
health system, but it is ageing, so it does require maintenance from time to
time, as all buildings do.
Ms Sandra Brewer interjected.
The Speaker: Members, listen to the response.
Ms Meredith Hammat: Basically, as issues are identified,
the health services repair them. They undertake repairs, as we would expect
them to do. In doing that, they raise work orders—again, that is a very
normal process in any workplace and any setting—to highlight what those
issues are. Those work orders, in the ordinary course of business, are
investigated. Of course, there might be duplicates.
The member raised an
issue about maintenance spending. I think this is important, because we heard claims
from the opposition in this place yesterday about maintenance and repair
spending across our metropolitan health service providers. They claimed that it
had decreased since we came to government. We invited the member to share the
figures so that we could have a look at them, but she did not. She chose not to.
Ms Sandra Brewer interjected.
The Speaker: Member for Cottesloe, this is not your
question.
Ms Meredith Hammat: It is now clear why they did not. We
have undertaken a close look at the maintenance figures. In our first year of
government, the entire repair and maintenance investment across WA's four major
metropolitan health service providers was $69.6 million in 2016–17. That
increased to $92.9 million in 2023–24, an increase of 33%. One thing
the member might want to do is to have a closer look at the health services that
she counted. She might want to have a closer look at the annual reports, not
just for the North, South—
Several members
interjected.
The Speaker: Minister! Members!
Ms Meredith Hammat: They got it wrong. They would not
table their analysis, and no wonder, because they got it wrong. If they had had
a closer look, they would have seen the figures, not just in terms of what we
spend on maintenance, but also the $3.2 billion that we are spending on health
infrastructure, including the upgrades to Charlies; the $50 million for the new
emergency department at Charlies; and the $25 million for a 10-bed ICU pod. They
would have seen the amount of funding that we are putting into hospital
services. The last budget had a more than $800 million uplift just to meet
increased demand. I thank the member for the question but I again reject the
claims that she has made in this place about cuts to maintenance funding,
because they are wrong.
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