❓ Opposition Leader questions the Health Minister about elective surgery cancellations, code yellows, ambulance ramping, and aged-care bed shortages, suggesting the Minister's plan isn't working. The Minister acknowledges the issues, citing unprecedented demand and prioritisation of urgent cases.
AnsweredQoN 359Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
Hospitals—Elective surgery, code yellows, ramping
and aged-care beds
359. Mr Basil Zempilas to
the Minister for Health:
I, too, on behalf of
everybody on this side wish the Premier and the Attorney General a very happy
birthday.
Several members
interjected.
Mr Basil Zempilas: Sorry? There was some extraneous
noise.
The Speaker: Carry on, Leader of the Opposition.
Mr Basil Zempilas: Thank you, Mr Speaker.
I note that in the
last 24 hours there has been a cancellation of category 2 and category 3
elective surgeries, six hospitals were in code yellow, there were over 400
hours of ambulance ramping last night and there is a record number of hospital
patients awaiting aged-care beds.
(1) Will the minister now admit that her plan is
not working?
(2) What additional measures to combat this crisis
has the Department of Health requested, which the minister's government has not
supported?
(3) Will the minister now reconsider those
requests?
and aged-care beds
359. Mr Basil Zempilas to
the Minister for Health:
I, too, on behalf of
everybody on this side wish the Premier and the Attorney General a very happy
birthday.
Several members
interjected.
Mr Basil Zempilas: Sorry? There was some extraneous
noise.
The Speaker: Carry on, Leader of the Opposition.
Mr Basil Zempilas: Thank you, Mr Speaker.
I note that in the
last 24 hours there has been a cancellation of category 2 and category 3
elective surgeries, six hospitals were in code yellow, there were over 400
hours of ambulance ramping last night and there is a record number of hospital
patients awaiting aged-care beds.
(1) Will the minister now admit that her plan is
not working?
(2) What additional measures to combat this crisis
has the Department of Health requested, which the minister's government has not
supported?
(3) Will the minister now reconsider those
requests?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(3) I thank the member for the
question. We are dealing with extraordinary levels of demand in our health
system this week, as the member identified in the preface to that question. I
want to begin by acknowledging that the decision to reschedule some surgeries
will inconvenience people. We regret that, obviously, and I empathise with
people who find themselves in that situation. I know it is frustrating, but we
are responding this week to unprecedented demand in our health system. On
Monday evening we had more than 1,000 calls to 000, including one of the
highest number of priority 1 calls we have ever had in this state. We have been
able to see, in terms of the numbers of people coming to emergency departments,
the impact that that has had. But as the member also identifies in his preface
to the question, we have had large numbers of older Western Australians in
hospital who are well enough to be discharged but are not able to be discharged
because there is not appropriate care for them. More than 320 people are now in
that category in our health system, which underlines the issues I have been
talking about in this place for some time—the increased demand and the
increased complexity, but the challenges of finding appropriate care for older
Western Australians.
It has been a very busy week,
which is why the department has today proactively rescheduled a number of
surgeries so that we can ensure the system is responding to meet the most
urgent demand. That is the way our health system works: where we have urgent
demand, we need to prioritise that, and that is what we are doing. I want to
reiterate the frustrations I know that people will feel as a consequence of
that, but this is the system working to ensure that those people who need the
most urgent care are able to receive that care.
All states around Australia have
been coping with unprecedented demand this winter, and other states have made
similar decisions in response to meeting—
Several members
interjected.
Ms Meredith Hammat: Other states have responded
similarly because this is how health systems respond when there are demands on
the system. That is what our system is doing and I want to take this
opportunity to acknowledge all those people working in the Department of Health,
all those people working in health service providers,
particularly those frontline staff, for the work that they are doing as we move
through one of the busiest and most difficult winter seasons on record.
question. We are dealing with extraordinary levels of demand in our health
system this week, as the member identified in the preface to that question. I
want to begin by acknowledging that the decision to reschedule some surgeries
will inconvenience people. We regret that, obviously, and I empathise with
people who find themselves in that situation. I know it is frustrating, but we
are responding this week to unprecedented demand in our health system. On
Monday evening we had more than 1,000 calls to 000, including one of the
highest number of priority 1 calls we have ever had in this state. We have been
able to see, in terms of the numbers of people coming to emergency departments,
the impact that that has had. But as the member also identifies in his preface
to the question, we have had large numbers of older Western Australians in
hospital who are well enough to be discharged but are not able to be discharged
because there is not appropriate care for them. More than 320 people are now in
that category in our health system, which underlines the issues I have been
talking about in this place for some time—the increased demand and the
increased complexity, but the challenges of finding appropriate care for older
Western Australians.
It has been a very busy week,
which is why the department has today proactively rescheduled a number of
surgeries so that we can ensure the system is responding to meet the most
urgent demand. That is the way our health system works: where we have urgent
demand, we need to prioritise that, and that is what we are doing. I want to
reiterate the frustrations I know that people will feel as a consequence of
that, but this is the system working to ensure that those people who need the
most urgent care are able to receive that care.
All states around Australia have
been coping with unprecedented demand this winter, and other states have made
similar decisions in response to meeting—
Several members
interjected.
Ms Meredith Hammat: Other states have responded
similarly because this is how health systems respond when there are demands on
the system. That is what our system is doing and I want to take this
opportunity to acknowledge all those people working in the Department of Health,
all those people working in health service providers,
particularly those frontline staff, for the work that they are doing as we move
through one of the busiest and most difficult winter seasons on record.
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