❓ Mr. Catania asks about the impact of the Cook Labor government's health investment on patient care. The Minister outlines investments in beds, workforce, and virtual care initiatives like WAVED and GP ASK.
AnsweredQoN 100Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
Health—Infrastructure investment
100. Mr Steve Catania to the Minister for Health:
I refer to the Cook
Labor government's record investment in health to make Western Australia the healthiest
state in the nation.
(1) Can the minister outline to the house how the
government's investment to modernise our healthcare system is supporting more
Western Australians to get the care they need when they need it?
(2) Can the minister advise the house what impact
this investment will have to provide easier, simpler care for patients?
100. Mr Steve Catania to the Minister for Health:
I refer to the Cook
Labor government's record investment in health to make Western Australia the healthiest
state in the nation.
(1) Can the minister outline to the house how the
government's investment to modernise our healthcare system is supporting more
Western Australians to get the care they need when they need it?
(2) Can the minister advise the house what impact
this investment will have to provide easier, simpler care for patients?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member
for Midland for his question and his interest in this important area.
(1)–(2) As the member knows, the Cook
Labor government is continuing to deliver world-class health care for all
Western Australians. We have invested an unprecedented $14.3 billion in new
funding since 2021. It has added more than 800 new beds to the health system,
which is the equivalent of a new Fiona Stanley Hospital, and we have another
tertiary hospital worth of beds in the pipeline. In addition, we are increasing
WA's health workforce by more than 30%. That includes 4,400 more nurses and 1,800
more doctors.
I have spoken before in this
place about our plan to deliver better access to care for Western Australians.
As part of this, we are modernising our health system. This includes an
expansion of the WA virtual emergency department or WAVED, as we have called
it. The WA virtual ED means patients can get access to real-time consultation
with a specialist in their own home. That means they can avoid unnecessary
visits to the ED when it is clinically appropriate for them to do so. WAVED has
already supported hundreds of patients in their own homes and that is why I was
particularly pleased to have recently joined the Premier to announce that we
are expanding the WAVED program by partnering with Healthdirect Australia. This
means that Western Australians who call Healthdirect seeking medical advice can
be offered a virtual emergency department consultation, or a WAVED
consultation. It also means that more Western Australians will be able to be
treated in the comfort of their own home, avoiding emergency departments when
it is clinically appropriate for that to occur.
Of course, this builds upon our
government's work to modernise the health system. That includes things like
delivering the State Health Operations Centre, ensuring we can better
coordinate patient flow. We are also delivering more
telehealth services, particularly in regional WA, to provide regional Western Australians
with real-time access to specialists. During the election, we announced our GP
ASK program, which will provide GPs with access to specialists in real-time,
helping to save patients time and money. We are doing a lot to modernise the WA
health system to make sure that Western Australians can get access to the
health care they need, no matter where they live in our state.
for Midland for his question and his interest in this important area.
(1)–(2) As the member knows, the Cook
Labor government is continuing to deliver world-class health care for all
Western Australians. We have invested an unprecedented $14.3 billion in new
funding since 2021. It has added more than 800 new beds to the health system,
which is the equivalent of a new Fiona Stanley Hospital, and we have another
tertiary hospital worth of beds in the pipeline. In addition, we are increasing
WA's health workforce by more than 30%. That includes 4,400 more nurses and 1,800
more doctors.
I have spoken before in this
place about our plan to deliver better access to care for Western Australians.
As part of this, we are modernising our health system. This includes an
expansion of the WA virtual emergency department or WAVED, as we have called
it. The WA virtual ED means patients can get access to real-time consultation
with a specialist in their own home. That means they can avoid unnecessary
visits to the ED when it is clinically appropriate for them to do so. WAVED has
already supported hundreds of patients in their own homes and that is why I was
particularly pleased to have recently joined the Premier to announce that we
are expanding the WAVED program by partnering with Healthdirect Australia. This
means that Western Australians who call Healthdirect seeking medical advice can
be offered a virtual emergency department consultation, or a WAVED
consultation. It also means that more Western Australians will be able to be
treated in the comfort of their own home, avoiding emergency departments when
it is clinically appropriate for that to occur.
Of course, this builds upon our
government's work to modernise the health system. That includes things like
delivering the State Health Operations Centre, ensuring we can better
coordinate patient flow. We are also delivering more
telehealth services, particularly in regional WA, to provide regional Western Australians
with real-time access to specialists. During the election, we announced our GP
ASK program, which will provide GPs with access to specialists in real-time,
helping to save patients time and money. We are doing a lot to modernise the WA
health system to make sure that Western Australians can get access to the
health care they need, no matter where they live in our state.
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