❓ A WA parliamentary question on notice regarding the Bunbury Community Palliative Care Service's on-call service, focusing on call frequency, patient status, and emergency department referrals. The Minister's response addresses data inaccuracies and provides limited specific information due to patient confidentiality.
AnsweredQoN 4344Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to the Minister’s answer to question on notice No. 4193, and I ask: (a) of the 41 occasions when the Bunbury Community Palliative Care Service provided an on call service between 8 February and 8 April 2016: (i) will the Minister provide the date of each of the 41 occasions; (ii) was each call from, or on behalf of, terminal phase patients; (iii) on how many of these occasions was the caller advised to bring the patient to Bunbury Hospital Emergency Department; and (iv) how many of these terminal phase patients presented to Bunbury Hospital Emergency Department within 24 hours after accessing the on call service; (b) of the 10 occasions when the Bunbury Community Palliative Care Service provided an on call service between 8 April and 22 June 2016: (i) will the Minister provide the date of each of the 10 occasions; (ii) was each call from or on behalf of terminal phase patients; (iii) on how many of these occasions was the caller advised to bring the patient to Bunbury Hospital Emergency Department; and (iv) how many of these terminal phase patients presented to Bunbury Hospital Emergency Department within 24 hours after accessing the on call service; (c) what does the Minister mean by ‘terminal phase’; (d) how many out of hours, between 10pm and 8am, home visits were made by Bunbury Community Palliative Care Services nurses between 22 June 2016 to date; and (e) how many out of hours, between 10pm and 8am, calls were made to the on call service between 22 June 2016 to date?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
12 October 2016
Responded by
Minister for Planning representing the Minister for Health
Response time
35 days
I am advised that Question on Notice 4193 incorrectly reported 41 occasions of service. When reviewing the data to provide a response to this question, it was determined by WA Country Health Services (WACHS) that there was a manual count error and the correct response should have read 42 occasions of service.
As at 7 September 2016:
(a)(i) Due to small patient numbers specific dates will not be provided in order to protect patient confidentiality and decrease the potential for identification of individuals. This is in accordance with “Guidelines for the Disclosure of Secondary Use of Health Information for Statistical Reporting, Research and Analysis 2015” (the Guidelines).
(ii) No, a small number of calls were received from non-terminal phase patients.
(iii-iv) Nil.
(b)(i) Due to small patient numbers specific dates will not be provided in order to protect patient confidentiality and decrease the potential for identification of individuals, in accordance with the Guidelines.
(ii) No, a small number of calls were received from non-terminal phase patients.
(iii) On less than five occasions. Due to the small number of occasions, a specific number will not be provided in order to protect patient confidentiality and decrease the potential for identification of individuals, in accordance with the Guidelines.
(iv) Nil.
(c) The terminal phase of life occurs when a patient’s illness is at a stage when they will no longer benefit from active treatment and they are deteriorating rapidly to the point that they are within days or hours of death. This is determined in consultation with the treating team.
(d) Less than five home visits. Due to the small number of occasions, a specific number will not be provided in order to protect patient confidentiality and decrease the potential for identification of individuals, in accordance with the Guidelines.
(e) Between 22 June 2016 and 7 September 2016, eight telephone calls were made in the hours between 10pm and 8am to the on-call Bunbury Community Palliative Care nurse.
Should the Member have a particular case or patient experience she wishes to have investigated, with the patient’s consent, I would be happy to refer the case to WA Country Health Service South West for investigation and provide advice directly to the Member.
As at 7 September 2016:
(a)(i) Due to small patient numbers specific dates will not be provided in order to protect patient confidentiality and decrease the potential for identification of individuals. This is in accordance with “Guidelines for the Disclosure of Secondary Use of Health Information for Statistical Reporting, Research and Analysis 2015” (the Guidelines).
(ii) No, a small number of calls were received from non-terminal phase patients.
(iii-iv) Nil.
(b)(i) Due to small patient numbers specific dates will not be provided in order to protect patient confidentiality and decrease the potential for identification of individuals, in accordance with the Guidelines.
(ii) No, a small number of calls were received from non-terminal phase patients.
(iii) On less than five occasions. Due to the small number of occasions, a specific number will not be provided in order to protect patient confidentiality and decrease the potential for identification of individuals, in accordance with the Guidelines.
(iv) Nil.
(c) The terminal phase of life occurs when a patient’s illness is at a stage when they will no longer benefit from active treatment and they are deteriorating rapidly to the point that they are within days or hours of death. This is determined in consultation with the treating team.
(d) Less than five home visits. Due to the small number of occasions, a specific number will not be provided in order to protect patient confidentiality and decrease the potential for identification of individuals, in accordance with the Guidelines.
(e) Between 22 June 2016 and 7 September 2016, eight telephone calls were made in the hours between 10pm and 8am to the on-call Bunbury Community Palliative Care nurse.
Should the Member have a particular case or patient experience she wishes to have investigated, with the patient’s consent, I would be happy to refer the case to WA Country Health Service South West for investigation and provide advice directly to the Member.
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