A parliamentary question regarding the capacity of the Margaret River St John Ambulance service to transport seriously ill patients to Perth and the appropriateness of advising parents to self-transport children to hospital.

AnsweredQoN 251Legislative Council
Asked
22 March 2016
Portfolio
Health

QuestionView source ↗

ST JOHN AMBULANCE — MARGARET RIVER
251. Hon ADELE FARINA to the
parliamentary secretary representing the Minister for Health:
I refer to the St John Ambulance
service in Margaret River.
(1) Does the
Margaret River St John Ambulance Service have the capacity to transport a seriously
ill patient directly to a hospital in Perth?
(2) If not, why not?
(3) What is the
expected time it would take to transport a seriously ill patient from Margaret
River to Perth and what ambulance service would be available in Margaret River
during that time?
(4) Does the
minister consider it acceptable for the parent of a seriously ill child in
Margaret River to be advised to drive the child to Princess Margaret Hospital
rather than accessing the ambulance service?

AnswerView source ↗

I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1) Yes.
(2) Not applicable.
(3) The time
taken would depend on a range of factors. A seriously ill patient is
transported to the nearest appropriate medical facility. The medical staff at
that location will then decide on the best course of action. If the patient
requires secondary transport to Perth, it would be provided via ambulance or
Royal Flying Doctor Service. This is decided by the medical staff, who would
determine whether they should travel with the patient. Ambulance services would
continue to be available locally as the south west is supported by a network of
ambulance response personnel.
(4) The minister
advises that he would consider the most appropriate course of action would be
to contact the emergency 000 line, which would provide the most clinically
appropriate assessment of the circumstances.

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