❓ Question regarding staffing implications of relocating the new women's and babies' hospital and establishing a satellite birthing facility, given existing staffing shortages at Osborne Park Hospital. Minister defends the decision, citing irrefutable facts and unmitigable risk.
AnsweredQoN 931Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
QUEEN ELIZABETH II
MEDICAL CENTRE — SATELLITE BIRTHING FACILITY
931. Ms L. METTAM to the Minister for Health:
I refer to the minister's
thought bubble for a proposed satellite maternity facility, together with an
expanded Osborne Park Hospital, to support the minister's disastrous
decision to relocate the new women's and babies' hospital to
the Murdoch site. How can the minister possibly staff three different
facilities, given the neonatal unit at Osborne Park Hospital, which opened in
2020, is still not able to operate as intended due to an inability to attract
suitably qualified staff?
Distinguished Visitor —
Hon Bob Kucera
The SPEAKER : I might just
welcome former minister Bob Kucera to the public gallery.
Questions without Notice Resumed
MEDICAL CENTRE — SATELLITE BIRTHING FACILITY
931. Ms L. METTAM to the Minister for Health:
I refer to the minister's
thought bubble for a proposed satellite maternity facility, together with an
expanded Osborne Park Hospital, to support the minister's disastrous
decision to relocate the new women's and babies' hospital to
the Murdoch site. How can the minister possibly staff three different
facilities, given the neonatal unit at Osborne Park Hospital, which opened in
2020, is still not able to operate as intended due to an inability to attract
suitably qualified staff?
Distinguished Visitor —
Hon Bob Kucera
The SPEAKER : I might just
welcome former minister Bob Kucera to the public gallery.
Questions without Notice Resumed
AnswerView source ↗
I think the Leader of the Liberal
Party finds herself in a very difficult position with this hospital.
Essentially, the government was faced with a series of irrefutable facts and
unmitigatable risk. Any sensible and responsible government would not accept
those risks, which could not be mitigated, on behalf of the community. We
absolutely made the sensible and appropriate decision to relocate the acute
services part of the tertiary hospital down to Murdoch and expand Osborne Park
Hospital.
The question that the Leader of the
Liberal Party asks ignores the fact that Osborne Park Hospital will have a doubling
of activity under the plan and, therefore, a doubling of its requirement for
staff and a doubling of its requirement for specialty staff because King Edward
Memorial Hospital for Women will not be operating. She assumes that we will
still be maintaining King Edward. Many of those staff will relocate to Osborne
Park Hospital and some of those staff will relocate down to Murdoch, and the
Fiona Stanley Hospital staff will relocate. We are not tripling the staffing
profile of the maternity system.
I
have been very frustrated with the Leader of the Liberal Party's
unwillingness to address or understand the facts of the case. I thought that, surely, anyone faced
with the business case that this government was faced with would just need to
read it and accept that it was a difficult but necessary decision, so we
released the business case. Knowing all those risks, she still dug in and said, ''No. I will still build
it there.'' Okay, I said I would organise for her to meet with clinicians, go to the site and make the offer. I organised
those meetings. The Leader of the Liberal Party went down to Fiona Stanley. We would assume that she would
ask the question about the relocation, but she did not ask a single
question about the relocation of those clinicians. She did not ask a single
question! Again, I said, ''Go down to Osborne
Park. I will make it available. I will make the executive and the director
general available. We will brief you and give you the information
because this should be in the interests of everyone.'' She did not ask a
single question.
Ms L. Mettam interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please! I
am guessing that you might like the opportunity for a supplementary.
Ms A. SANDERSON : Again, she
did not ask a reasonable question at all. She does not ask the questions
because she does not want the answers. She does not want the answers when she
gets out and talks to those clinicians at those
sites—Fiona Stanley, the Child and Adolescent Health Service, many in
King Edward and the midwifery staff . Did she talk to the midwifery
staff? No! I bet she has not. The midwifery staff and the Osborne Park staff
will say that this is the sensible and responsible decision.
Party finds herself in a very difficult position with this hospital.
Essentially, the government was faced with a series of irrefutable facts and
unmitigatable risk. Any sensible and responsible government would not accept
those risks, which could not be mitigated, on behalf of the community. We
absolutely made the sensible and appropriate decision to relocate the acute
services part of the tertiary hospital down to Murdoch and expand Osborne Park
Hospital.
The question that the Leader of the
Liberal Party asks ignores the fact that Osborne Park Hospital will have a doubling
of activity under the plan and, therefore, a doubling of its requirement for
staff and a doubling of its requirement for specialty staff because King Edward
Memorial Hospital for Women will not be operating. She assumes that we will
still be maintaining King Edward. Many of those staff will relocate to Osborne
Park Hospital and some of those staff will relocate down to Murdoch, and the
Fiona Stanley Hospital staff will relocate. We are not tripling the staffing
profile of the maternity system.
I
have been very frustrated with the Leader of the Liberal Party's
unwillingness to address or understand the facts of the case. I thought that, surely, anyone faced
with the business case that this government was faced with would just need to
read it and accept that it was a difficult but necessary decision, so we
released the business case. Knowing all those risks, she still dug in and said, ''No. I will still build
it there.'' Okay, I said I would organise for her to meet with clinicians, go to the site and make the offer. I organised
those meetings. The Leader of the Liberal Party went down to Fiona Stanley. We would assume that she would
ask the question about the relocation, but she did not ask a single
question about the relocation of those clinicians. She did not ask a single
question! Again, I said, ''Go down to Osborne
Park. I will make it available. I will make the executive and the director
general available. We will brief you and give you the information
because this should be in the interests of everyone.'' She did not ask a
single question.
Ms L. Mettam interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please! I
am guessing that you might like the opportunity for a supplementary.
Ms A. SANDERSON : Again, she
did not ask a reasonable question at all. She does not ask the questions
because she does not want the answers. She does not want the answers when she
gets out and talks to those clinicians at those
sites—Fiona Stanley, the Child and Adolescent Health Service, many in
King Edward and the midwifery staff . Did she talk to the midwifery
staff? No! I bet she has not. The midwifery staff and the Osborne Park staff
will say that this is the sensible and responsible decision.
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