❓ Hon Martin Aldridge questions the Minister for Health regarding the reduced operating hours at Wyndham Hospital due to staff shortages, seeking clarity on the timeline for restoring normal operations and the measures being taken to address the issue. The Minister confirms the change is temporary and outlines strategies to secure staffing.
AnsweredQoN 922Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
WYNDHAM HOSPITAL
922. Hon MARTIN ALDRIDGE to the Leader of the House
representing the Minister for Health:
I
refer to the reduction in operating hours at Wyndham Hospital in October 2021,
from 24-hour coverage to 12 hours a day,
which was described by the WA Country Health Service as a temporary change in
response to staff shortages.
(1) Noting the
service reduction has been in place for a year, has a date been set to resume
normal operating hours at Wyndham Hospital?
(2) Does WACHS
still consider this reduction in services to be temporary or has it now become
permanent?
(3) What measures
is the state government taking to address staff shortages and resume normal
operating hours at Wyndham Hospital?
922. Hon MARTIN ALDRIDGE to the Leader of the House
representing the Minister for Health:
I
refer to the reduction in operating hours at Wyndham Hospital in October 2021,
from 24-hour coverage to 12 hours a day,
which was described by the WA Country Health Service as a temporary change in
response to staff shortages.
(1) Noting the
service reduction has been in place for a year, has a date been set to resume
normal operating hours at Wyndham Hospital?
(2) Does WACHS
still consider this reduction in services to be temporary or has it now become
permanent?
(3) What measures
is the state government taking to address staff shortages and resume normal
operating hours at Wyndham Hospital?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the
honourable member for some notice of the question.
(1)–(2) The
change in operating hours is temporary. Wyndham Hospital will return to its
regular operating model when long-term staffing can be secured. An on-call
service remains available for emergency out-of-hours care.
(3) Like most
hospitals and health services, the WA Country Health Service is working in the
context of state, national and international
health workforce shortages. Several strategies are being employed to ensure additional staff can be deployed to maintain a safe service, including at
Wyndham Hospital. These include securing priority deployment of nursing staff
by NurseWest and working directly with other recruitment agencies, providing
incentive payments for staff deployed to priority areas and the deployment of
staff from country and metropolitan WA Health sites.
honourable member for some notice of the question.
(1)–(2) The
change in operating hours is temporary. Wyndham Hospital will return to its
regular operating model when long-term staffing can be secured. An on-call
service remains available for emergency out-of-hours care.
(3) Like most
hospitals and health services, the WA Country Health Service is working in the
context of state, national and international
health workforce shortages. Several strategies are being employed to ensure additional staff can be deployed to maintain a safe service, including at
Wyndham Hospital. These include securing priority deployment of nursing staff
by NurseWest and working directly with other recruitment agencies, providing
incentive payments for staff deployed to priority areas and the deployment of
staff from country and metropolitan WA Health sites.
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