❓ Mr Watson questions the Health Minister about the termination of GP privileges at Albany Regional Hospital due to emergency roster issues. The Minister responds that a resolution has been signed off, involving government-employed doctors filling roster gaps, but invites further discussion if problems persist.
AnsweredQoN 547Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
ALBANY REGIONAL HOSPITAL — GENERAL PRACTITIONER PRIVILEGES
I refer to correspondence with the minister’s office on 25 May 2009 concerning the current clinical crisis at Albany Regional Hospital, where local general practitioners have had their privileges terminated simply because they are not able to fully participate in the problematic and rigid 24-hour emergency service. (1) Why, when the local doctors had warned the medical director, John Mulligan, on numerous occasions over a number of years about their concern over emergency rosters, has the department refused to discuss it and amend local rosters? (2) Why is the Albany community being denied the important services of local GPs in other areas of the hospital system simply because of the intransigence of the local health department bureaucrats? (3) When can the Albany community expect a resolution to this issue? (4) Can the minister personally intervene to ensure all the parties cooperate and help the Albany hospital get back on its feet? Dr K.D. HAMES
I refer to correspondence with the minister’s office on 25 May 2009 concerning the current clinical crisis at Albany Regional Hospital, where local general practitioners have had their privileges terminated simply because they are not able to fully participate in the problematic and rigid 24-hour emergency service. (1) Why, when the local doctors had warned the medical director, John Mulligan, on numerous occasions over a number of years about their concern over emergency rosters, has the department refused to discuss it and amend local rosters? (2) Why is the Albany community being denied the important services of local GPs in other areas of the hospital system simply because of the intransigence of the local health department bureaucrats? (3) When can the Albany community expect a resolution to this issue? (4) Can the minister personally intervene to ensure all the parties cooperate and help the Albany hospital get back on its feet? Dr K.D. HAMES
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for the question. (1)-(4) It is an issue with which I am familiar. I do not know about intervening, but about a week or two ago I signed off on what we think is a resolution to that problem. The advice I have is somewhat different from what the member presented to the Parliament; that is, one of the practices in particular was having trouble with the number of doctors it had available. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Again, the member has not given me notice of the question. I cannot recall off the top of my head the names of the doctors or the practices. As a general concept, one of the practices was having problems with enough doctors in its team to provide a full 24-hour on-call roster at the hospital. This was seen by the Department of Health and local health officials to be of significant concern, so the health department has been talking through this issue with the local GPs. As a result of that—I think it is the only hospital to have specially done this—we have now allocated to the hospital doctors who work for the health department to fill in those gaps to help that particular practice with its inability to fulfil that roster. Mr E.S. Ripper : Do you think you have solved this issue? Dr K.D. HAMES : I was asked whether I was prepared to do it, remembering that—I should not say this while the Treasurer is listening—we had to find the extra funding internally that we do not usually have. Mr E.S. Ripper : I know from experience that that will be supplementary funding. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Dr K.D. HAMES : I can tell members that he is a hard man to deal with. The GPs who had been providing that on-call roster did not have sufficient staff to cover it. We as a state government have filled those spaces with government-employed doctors. I understand that will solve the problem. If the member has information to suggest that might not be the case and there is still a problem, I would be more than happy to talk to him about it after question time.
(1) Why, when the local doctors had warned the medical director, John Mulligan, on numerous occasions over a number of years about their concern over emergency rosters, has the department refused to discuss it and amend local rosters? (2) Why is the Albany community being denied the important services of local GPs in other areas of the hospital system simply because of the intransigence of the local health department bureaucrats? (3) When can the Albany community expect a resolution to this issue? (4) Can the minister personally intervene to ensure all the parties cooperate and help the Albany hospital get back on its feet? Dr K.D. HAMES replied: I thank the member for the question. (1)-(4) It is an issue with which I am familiar. I do not know about intervening, but about a week or two ago I signed off on what we think is a resolution to that problem. The advice I have is somewhat different from what the member presented to the Parliament; that is, one of the practices in particular was having trouble with the number of doctors it had available. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Again, the member has not given me notice of the question. I cannot recall off the top of my head the names of the doctors or the practices. As a general concept, one of the practices was having problems with enough doctors in its team to provide a full 24-hour on-call roster at the hospital. This was seen by the Department of Health and local health officials to be of significant concern, so the health department has been talking through this issue with the local GPs. As a result of that—I think it is the only hospital to have specially done this—we have now allocated to the hospital doctors who work for the health department to fill in those gaps to help that particular practice with its inability to fulfil that roster. Mr E.S. Ripper : Do you think you have solved this issue? Dr K.D. HAMES : I was asked whether I was prepared to do it, remembering that—I should not say this while the Treasurer is listening—we had to find the extra funding internally that we do not usually have. Mr E.S. Ripper : I know from experience that that will be supplementary funding. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Dr K.D. HAMES : I can tell members that he is a hard man to deal with. The GPs who had been providing that on-call roster did not have sufficient staff to cover it. We as a state government have filled those spaces with government-employed doctors. I understand that will solve the problem. If the member has information to suggest that might not be the case and there is still a problem, I would be more than happy to talk to him about it after question time.
(2) Why is the Albany community being denied the important services of local GPs in other areas of the hospital system simply because of the intransigence of the local health department bureaucrats? (3) When can the Albany community expect a resolution to this issue? (4) Can the minister personally intervene to ensure all the parties cooperate and help the Albany hospital get back on its feet? Dr K.D. HAMES replied: I thank the member for the question. (1)-(4) It is an issue with which I am familiar. I do not know about intervening, but about a week or two ago I signed off on what we think is a resolution to that problem. The advice I have is somewhat different from what the member presented to the Parliament; that is, one of the practices in particular was having trouble with the number of doctors it had available. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Again, the member has not given me notice of the question. I cannot recall off the top of my head the names of the doctors or the practices. As a general concept, one of the practices was having problems with enough doctors in its team to provide a full 24-hour on-call roster at the hospital. This was seen by the Department of Health and local health officials to be of significant concern, so the health department has been talking through this issue with the local GPs. As a result of that—I think it is the only hospital to have specially done this—we have now allocated to the hospital doctors who work for the health department to fill in those gaps to help that particular practice with its inability to fulfil that roster. Mr E.S. Ripper : Do you think you have solved this issue? Dr K.D. HAMES : I was asked whether I was prepared to do it, remembering that—I should not say this while the Treasurer is listening—we had to find the extra funding internally that we do not usually have. Mr E.S. Ripper : I know from experience that that will be supplementary funding. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Dr K.D. HAMES : I can tell members that he is a hard man to deal with. The GPs who had been providing that on-call roster did not have sufficient staff to cover it. We as a state government have filled those spaces with government-employed doctors. I understand that will solve the problem. If the member has information to suggest that might not be the case and there is still a problem, I would be more than happy to talk to him about it after question time.
(3) When can the Albany community expect a resolution to this issue? (4) Can the minister personally intervene to ensure all the parties cooperate and help the Albany hospital get back on its feet? Dr K.D. HAMES replied: I thank the member for the question. (1)-(4) It is an issue with which I am familiar. I do not know about intervening, but about a week or two ago I signed off on what we think is a resolution to that problem. The advice I have is somewhat different from what the member presented to the Parliament; that is, one of the practices in particular was having trouble with the number of doctors it had available. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Again, the member has not given me notice of the question. I cannot recall off the top of my head the names of the doctors or the practices. As a general concept, one of the practices was having problems with enough doctors in its team to provide a full 24-hour on-call roster at the hospital. This was seen by the Department of Health and local health officials to be of significant concern, so the health department has been talking through this issue with the local GPs. As a result of that—I think it is the only hospital to have specially done this—we have now allocated to the hospital doctors who work for the health department to fill in those gaps to help that particular practice with its inability to fulfil that roster. Mr E.S. Ripper : Do you think you have solved this issue? Dr K.D. HAMES : I was asked whether I was prepared to do it, remembering that—I should not say this while the Treasurer is listening—we had to find the extra funding internally that we do not usually have. Mr E.S. Ripper : I know from experience that that will be supplementary funding. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Dr K.D. HAMES : I can tell members that he is a hard man to deal with. The GPs who had been providing that on-call roster did not have sufficient staff to cover it. We as a state government have filled those spaces with government-employed doctors. I understand that will solve the problem. If the member has information to suggest that might not be the case and there is still a problem, I would be more than happy to talk to him about it after question time.
(4) Can the minister personally intervene to ensure all the parties cooperate and help the Albany hospital get back on its feet? Dr K.D. HAMES replied: I thank the member for the question. (1)-(4) It is an issue with which I am familiar. I do not know about intervening, but about a week or two ago I signed off on what we think is a resolution to that problem. The advice I have is somewhat different from what the member presented to the Parliament; that is, one of the practices in particular was having trouble with the number of doctors it had available. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Again, the member has not given me notice of the question. I cannot recall off the top of my head the names of the doctors or the practices. As a general concept, one of the practices was having problems with enough doctors in its team to provide a full 24-hour on-call roster at the hospital. This was seen by the Department of Health and local health officials to be of significant concern, so the health department has been talking through this issue with the local GPs. As a result of that—I think it is the only hospital to have specially done this—we have now allocated to the hospital doctors who work for the health department to fill in those gaps to help that particular practice with its inability to fulfil that roster. Mr E.S. Ripper : Do you think you have solved this issue? Dr K.D. HAMES : I was asked whether I was prepared to do it, remembering that—I should not say this while the Treasurer is listening—we had to find the extra funding internally that we do not usually have. Mr E.S. Ripper : I know from experience that that will be supplementary funding. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Dr K.D. HAMES : I can tell members that he is a hard man to deal with. The GPs who had been providing that on-call roster did not have sufficient staff to cover it. We as a state government have filled those spaces with government-employed doctors. I understand that will solve the problem. If the member has information to suggest that might not be the case and there is still a problem, I would be more than happy to talk to him about it after question time.
Dr K.D. HAMES replied: I thank the member for the question. (1)-(4) It is an issue with which I am familiar. I do not know about intervening, but about a week or two ago I signed off on what we think is a resolution to that problem. The advice I have is somewhat different from what the member presented to the Parliament; that is, one of the practices in particular was having trouble with the number of doctors it had available. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Again, the member has not given me notice of the question. I cannot recall off the top of my head the names of the doctors or the practices. As a general concept, one of the practices was having problems with enough doctors in its team to provide a full 24-hour on-call roster at the hospital. This was seen by the Department of Health and local health officials to be of significant concern, so the health department has been talking through this issue with the local GPs. As a result of that—I think it is the only hospital to have specially done this—we have now allocated to the hospital doctors who work for the health department to fill in those gaps to help that particular practice with its inability to fulfil that roster. Mr E.S. Ripper : Do you think you have solved this issue? Dr K.D. HAMES : I was asked whether I was prepared to do it, remembering that—I should not say this while the Treasurer is listening—we had to find the extra funding internally that we do not usually have. Mr E.S. Ripper : I know from experience that that will be supplementary funding. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Dr K.D. HAMES : I can tell members that he is a hard man to deal with. The GPs who had been providing that on-call roster did not have sufficient staff to cover it. We as a state government have filled those spaces with government-employed doctors. I understand that will solve the problem. If the member has information to suggest that might not be the case and there is still a problem, I would be more than happy to talk to him about it after question time.
I thank the member for the question. (1)-(4) It is an issue with which I am familiar. I do not know about intervening, but about a week or two ago I signed off on what we think is a resolution to that problem. The advice I have is somewhat different from what the member presented to the Parliament; that is, one of the practices in particular was having trouble with the number of doctors it had available. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Again, the member has not given me notice of the question. I cannot recall off the top of my head the names of the doctors or the practices. As a general concept, one of the practices was having problems with enough doctors in its team to provide a full 24-hour on-call roster at the hospital. This was seen by the Department of Health and local health officials to be of significant concern, so the health department has been talking through this issue with the local GPs. As a result of that—I think it is the only hospital to have specially done this—we have now allocated to the hospital doctors who work for the health department to fill in those gaps to help that particular practice with its inability to fulfil that roster. Mr E.S. Ripper : Do you think you have solved this issue? Dr K.D. HAMES : I was asked whether I was prepared to do it, remembering that—I should not say this while the Treasurer is listening—we had to find the extra funding internally that we do not usually have. Mr E.S. Ripper : I know from experience that that will be supplementary funding. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Dr K.D. HAMES : I can tell members that he is a hard man to deal with. The GPs who had been providing that on-call roster did not have sufficient staff to cover it. We as a state government have filled those spaces with government-employed doctors. I understand that will solve the problem. If the member has information to suggest that might not be the case and there is still a problem, I would be more than happy to talk to him about it after question time.
(1)-(4) It is an issue with which I am familiar. I do not know about intervening, but about a week or two ago I signed off on what we think is a resolution to that problem. The advice I have is somewhat different from what the member presented to the Parliament; that is, one of the practices in particular was having trouble with the number of doctors it had available. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Again, the member has not given me notice of the question. I cannot recall off the top of my head the names of the doctors or the practices. As a general concept, one of the practices was having problems with enough doctors in its team to provide a full 24-hour on-call roster at the hospital. This was seen by the Department of Health and local health officials to be of significant concern, so the health department has been talking through this issue with the local GPs. As a result of that—I think it is the only hospital to have specially done this—we have now allocated to the hospital doctors who work for the health department to fill in those gaps to help that particular practice with its inability to fulfil that roster. Mr E.S. Ripper : Do you think you have solved this issue? Dr K.D. HAMES : I was asked whether I was prepared to do it, remembering that—I should not say this while the Treasurer is listening—we had to find the extra funding internally that we do not usually have. Mr E.S. Ripper : I know from experience that that will be supplementary funding. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Dr K.D. HAMES : I can tell members that he is a hard man to deal with. The GPs who had been providing that on-call roster did not have sufficient staff to cover it. We as a state government have filled those spaces with government-employed doctors. I understand that will solve the problem. If the member has information to suggest that might not be the case and there is still a problem, I would be more than happy to talk to him about it after question time.
Mr P.B. Watson interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Again, the member has not given me notice of the question. I cannot recall off the top of my head the names of the doctors or the practices. As a general concept, one of the practices was having problems with enough doctors in its team to provide a full 24-hour on-call roster at the hospital. This was seen by the Department of Health and local health officials to be of significant concern, so the health department has been talking through this issue with the local GPs. As a result of that—I think it is the only hospital to have specially done this—we have now allocated to the hospital doctors who work for the health department to fill in those gaps to help that particular practice with its inability to fulfil that roster. Mr E.S. Ripper : Do you think you have solved this issue? Dr K.D. HAMES : I was asked whether I was prepared to do it, remembering that—I should not say this while the Treasurer is listening—we had to find the extra funding internally that we do not usually have. Mr E.S. Ripper : I know from experience that that will be supplementary funding. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Dr K.D. HAMES : I can tell members that he is a hard man to deal with. The GPs who had been providing that on-call roster did not have sufficient staff to cover it. We as a state government have filled those spaces with government-employed doctors. I understand that will solve the problem. If the member has information to suggest that might not be the case and there is still a problem, I would be more than happy to talk to him about it after question time.
Dr K.D. HAMES : Again, the member has not given me notice of the question. I cannot recall off the top of my head the names of the doctors or the practices. As a general concept, one of the practices was having problems with enough doctors in its team to provide a full 24-hour on-call roster at the hospital. This was seen by the Department of Health and local health officials to be of significant concern, so the health department has been talking through this issue with the local GPs. As a result of that—I think it is the only hospital to have specially done this—we have now allocated to the hospital doctors who work for the health department to fill in those gaps to help that particular practice with its inability to fulfil that roster. Mr E.S. Ripper : Do you think you have solved this issue? Dr K.D. HAMES : I was asked whether I was prepared to do it, remembering that—I should not say this while the Treasurer is listening—we had to find the extra funding internally that we do not usually have. Mr E.S. Ripper : I know from experience that that will be supplementary funding. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Dr K.D. HAMES : I can tell members that he is a hard man to deal with. The GPs who had been providing that on-call roster did not have sufficient staff to cover it. We as a state government have filled those spaces with government-employed doctors. I understand that will solve the problem. If the member has information to suggest that might not be the case and there is still a problem, I would be more than happy to talk to him about it after question time.
Mr E.S. Ripper : Do you think you have solved this issue? Dr K.D. HAMES : I was asked whether I was prepared to do it, remembering that—I should not say this while the Treasurer is listening—we had to find the extra funding internally that we do not usually have. Mr E.S. Ripper : I know from experience that that will be supplementary funding. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Dr K.D. HAMES : I can tell members that he is a hard man to deal with. The GPs who had been providing that on-call roster did not have sufficient staff to cover it. We as a state government have filled those spaces with government-employed doctors. I understand that will solve the problem. If the member has information to suggest that might not be the case and there is still a problem, I would be more than happy to talk to him about it after question time.
Dr K.D. HAMES : I was asked whether I was prepared to do it, remembering that—I should not say this while the Treasurer is listening—we had to find the extra funding internally that we do not usually have. Mr E.S. Ripper : I know from experience that that will be supplementary funding. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Dr K.D. HAMES : I can tell members that he is a hard man to deal with. The GPs who had been providing that on-call roster did not have sufficient staff to cover it. We as a state government have filled those spaces with government-employed doctors. I understand that will solve the problem. If the member has information to suggest that might not be the case and there is still a problem, I would be more than happy to talk to him about it after question time.
Mr E.S. Ripper : I know from experience that that will be supplementary funding. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Dr K.D. HAMES : I can tell members that he is a hard man to deal with. The GPs who had been providing that on-call roster did not have sufficient staff to cover it. We as a state government have filled those spaces with government-employed doctors. I understand that will solve the problem. If the member has information to suggest that might not be the case and there is still a problem, I would be more than happy to talk to him about it after question time.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Dr K.D. HAMES : I can tell members that he is a hard man to deal with. The GPs who had been providing that on-call roster did not have sufficient staff to cover it. We as a state government have filled those spaces with government-employed doctors. I understand that will solve the problem. If the member has information to suggest that might not be the case and there is still a problem, I would be more than happy to talk to him about it after question time.
The SPEAKER : Order! Dr K.D. HAMES : I can tell members that he is a hard man to deal with. The GPs who had been providing that on-call roster did not have sufficient staff to cover it. We as a state government have filled those spaces with government-employed doctors. I understand that will solve the problem. If the member has information to suggest that might not be the case and there is still a problem, I would be more than happy to talk to him about it after question time.
Dr K.D. HAMES : I can tell members that he is a hard man to deal with. The GPs who had been providing that on-call roster did not have sufficient staff to cover it. We as a state government have filled those spaces with government-employed doctors. I understand that will solve the problem. If the member has information to suggest that might not be the case and there is still a problem, I would be more than happy to talk to him about it after question time.
(1) Why, when the local doctors had warned the medical director, John Mulligan, on numerous occasions over a number of years about their concern over emergency rosters, has the department refused to discuss it and amend local rosters? (2) Why is the Albany community being denied the important services of local GPs in other areas of the hospital system simply because of the intransigence of the local health department bureaucrats? (3) When can the Albany community expect a resolution to this issue? (4) Can the minister personally intervene to ensure all the parties cooperate and help the Albany hospital get back on its feet? Dr K.D. HAMES replied: I thank the member for the question. (1)-(4) It is an issue with which I am familiar. I do not know about intervening, but about a week or two ago I signed off on what we think is a resolution to that problem. The advice I have is somewhat different from what the member presented to the Parliament; that is, one of the practices in particular was having trouble with the number of doctors it had available. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Again, the member has not given me notice of the question. I cannot recall off the top of my head the names of the doctors or the practices. As a general concept, one of the practices was having problems with enough doctors in its team to provide a full 24-hour on-call roster at the hospital. This was seen by the Department of Health and local health officials to be of significant concern, so the health department has been talking through this issue with the local GPs. As a result of that—I think it is the only hospital to have specially done this—we have now allocated to the hospital doctors who work for the health department to fill in those gaps to help that particular practice with its inability to fulfil that roster. Mr E.S. Ripper : Do you think you have solved this issue? Dr K.D. HAMES : I was asked whether I was prepared to do it, remembering that—I should not say this while the Treasurer is listening—we had to find the extra funding internally that we do not usually have. Mr E.S. Ripper : I know from experience that that will be supplementary funding. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Dr K.D. HAMES : I can tell members that he is a hard man to deal with. The GPs who had been providing that on-call roster did not have sufficient staff to cover it. We as a state government have filled those spaces with government-employed doctors. I understand that will solve the problem. If the member has information to suggest that might not be the case and there is still a problem, I would be more than happy to talk to him about it after question time.
(2) Why is the Albany community being denied the important services of local GPs in other areas of the hospital system simply because of the intransigence of the local health department bureaucrats? (3) When can the Albany community expect a resolution to this issue? (4) Can the minister personally intervene to ensure all the parties cooperate and help the Albany hospital get back on its feet? Dr K.D. HAMES replied: I thank the member for the question. (1)-(4) It is an issue with which I am familiar. I do not know about intervening, but about a week or two ago I signed off on what we think is a resolution to that problem. The advice I have is somewhat different from what the member presented to the Parliament; that is, one of the practices in particular was having trouble with the number of doctors it had available. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Again, the member has not given me notice of the question. I cannot recall off the top of my head the names of the doctors or the practices. As a general concept, one of the practices was having problems with enough doctors in its team to provide a full 24-hour on-call roster at the hospital. This was seen by the Department of Health and local health officials to be of significant concern, so the health department has been talking through this issue with the local GPs. As a result of that—I think it is the only hospital to have specially done this—we have now allocated to the hospital doctors who work for the health department to fill in those gaps to help that particular practice with its inability to fulfil that roster. Mr E.S. Ripper : Do you think you have solved this issue? Dr K.D. HAMES : I was asked whether I was prepared to do it, remembering that—I should not say this while the Treasurer is listening—we had to find the extra funding internally that we do not usually have. Mr E.S. Ripper : I know from experience that that will be supplementary funding. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Dr K.D. HAMES : I can tell members that he is a hard man to deal with. The GPs who had been providing that on-call roster did not have sufficient staff to cover it. We as a state government have filled those spaces with government-employed doctors. I understand that will solve the problem. If the member has information to suggest that might not be the case and there is still a problem, I would be more than happy to talk to him about it after question time.
(3) When can the Albany community expect a resolution to this issue? (4) Can the minister personally intervene to ensure all the parties cooperate and help the Albany hospital get back on its feet? Dr K.D. HAMES replied: I thank the member for the question. (1)-(4) It is an issue with which I am familiar. I do not know about intervening, but about a week or two ago I signed off on what we think is a resolution to that problem. The advice I have is somewhat different from what the member presented to the Parliament; that is, one of the practices in particular was having trouble with the number of doctors it had available. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Again, the member has not given me notice of the question. I cannot recall off the top of my head the names of the doctors or the practices. As a general concept, one of the practices was having problems with enough doctors in its team to provide a full 24-hour on-call roster at the hospital. This was seen by the Department of Health and local health officials to be of significant concern, so the health department has been talking through this issue with the local GPs. As a result of that—I think it is the only hospital to have specially done this—we have now allocated to the hospital doctors who work for the health department to fill in those gaps to help that particular practice with its inability to fulfil that roster. Mr E.S. Ripper : Do you think you have solved this issue? Dr K.D. HAMES : I was asked whether I was prepared to do it, remembering that—I should not say this while the Treasurer is listening—we had to find the extra funding internally that we do not usually have. Mr E.S. Ripper : I know from experience that that will be supplementary funding. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Dr K.D. HAMES : I can tell members that he is a hard man to deal with. The GPs who had been providing that on-call roster did not have sufficient staff to cover it. We as a state government have filled those spaces with government-employed doctors. I understand that will solve the problem. If the member has information to suggest that might not be the case and there is still a problem, I would be more than happy to talk to him about it after question time.
(4) Can the minister personally intervene to ensure all the parties cooperate and help the Albany hospital get back on its feet? Dr K.D. HAMES replied: I thank the member for the question. (1)-(4) It is an issue with which I am familiar. I do not know about intervening, but about a week or two ago I signed off on what we think is a resolution to that problem. The advice I have is somewhat different from what the member presented to the Parliament; that is, one of the practices in particular was having trouble with the number of doctors it had available. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Again, the member has not given me notice of the question. I cannot recall off the top of my head the names of the doctors or the practices. As a general concept, one of the practices was having problems with enough doctors in its team to provide a full 24-hour on-call roster at the hospital. This was seen by the Department of Health and local health officials to be of significant concern, so the health department has been talking through this issue with the local GPs. As a result of that—I think it is the only hospital to have specially done this—we have now allocated to the hospital doctors who work for the health department to fill in those gaps to help that particular practice with its inability to fulfil that roster. Mr E.S. Ripper : Do you think you have solved this issue? Dr K.D. HAMES : I was asked whether I was prepared to do it, remembering that—I should not say this while the Treasurer is listening—we had to find the extra funding internally that we do not usually have. Mr E.S. Ripper : I know from experience that that will be supplementary funding. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Dr K.D. HAMES : I can tell members that he is a hard man to deal with. The GPs who had been providing that on-call roster did not have sufficient staff to cover it. We as a state government have filled those spaces with government-employed doctors. I understand that will solve the problem. If the member has information to suggest that might not be the case and there is still a problem, I would be more than happy to talk to him about it after question time.
Dr K.D. HAMES replied: I thank the member for the question. (1)-(4) It is an issue with which I am familiar. I do not know about intervening, but about a week or two ago I signed off on what we think is a resolution to that problem. The advice I have is somewhat different from what the member presented to the Parliament; that is, one of the practices in particular was having trouble with the number of doctors it had available. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Again, the member has not given me notice of the question. I cannot recall off the top of my head the names of the doctors or the practices. As a general concept, one of the practices was having problems with enough doctors in its team to provide a full 24-hour on-call roster at the hospital. This was seen by the Department of Health and local health officials to be of significant concern, so the health department has been talking through this issue with the local GPs. As a result of that—I think it is the only hospital to have specially done this—we have now allocated to the hospital doctors who work for the health department to fill in those gaps to help that particular practice with its inability to fulfil that roster. Mr E.S. Ripper : Do you think you have solved this issue? Dr K.D. HAMES : I was asked whether I was prepared to do it, remembering that—I should not say this while the Treasurer is listening—we had to find the extra funding internally that we do not usually have. Mr E.S. Ripper : I know from experience that that will be supplementary funding. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Dr K.D. HAMES : I can tell members that he is a hard man to deal with. The GPs who had been providing that on-call roster did not have sufficient staff to cover it. We as a state government have filled those spaces with government-employed doctors. I understand that will solve the problem. If the member has information to suggest that might not be the case and there is still a problem, I would be more than happy to talk to him about it after question time.
I thank the member for the question. (1)-(4) It is an issue with which I am familiar. I do not know about intervening, but about a week or two ago I signed off on what we think is a resolution to that problem. The advice I have is somewhat different from what the member presented to the Parliament; that is, one of the practices in particular was having trouble with the number of doctors it had available. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Again, the member has not given me notice of the question. I cannot recall off the top of my head the names of the doctors or the practices. As a general concept, one of the practices was having problems with enough doctors in its team to provide a full 24-hour on-call roster at the hospital. This was seen by the Department of Health and local health officials to be of significant concern, so the health department has been talking through this issue with the local GPs. As a result of that—I think it is the only hospital to have specially done this—we have now allocated to the hospital doctors who work for the health department to fill in those gaps to help that particular practice with its inability to fulfil that roster. Mr E.S. Ripper : Do you think you have solved this issue? Dr K.D. HAMES : I was asked whether I was prepared to do it, remembering that—I should not say this while the Treasurer is listening—we had to find the extra funding internally that we do not usually have. Mr E.S. Ripper : I know from experience that that will be supplementary funding. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Dr K.D. HAMES : I can tell members that he is a hard man to deal with. The GPs who had been providing that on-call roster did not have sufficient staff to cover it. We as a state government have filled those spaces with government-employed doctors. I understand that will solve the problem. If the member has information to suggest that might not be the case and there is still a problem, I would be more than happy to talk to him about it after question time.
(1)-(4) It is an issue with which I am familiar. I do not know about intervening, but about a week or two ago I signed off on what we think is a resolution to that problem. The advice I have is somewhat different from what the member presented to the Parliament; that is, one of the practices in particular was having trouble with the number of doctors it had available. Mr P.B. Watson interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Again, the member has not given me notice of the question. I cannot recall off the top of my head the names of the doctors or the practices. As a general concept, one of the practices was having problems with enough doctors in its team to provide a full 24-hour on-call roster at the hospital. This was seen by the Department of Health and local health officials to be of significant concern, so the health department has been talking through this issue with the local GPs. As a result of that—I think it is the only hospital to have specially done this—we have now allocated to the hospital doctors who work for the health department to fill in those gaps to help that particular practice with its inability to fulfil that roster. Mr E.S. Ripper : Do you think you have solved this issue? Dr K.D. HAMES : I was asked whether I was prepared to do it, remembering that—I should not say this while the Treasurer is listening—we had to find the extra funding internally that we do not usually have. Mr E.S. Ripper : I know from experience that that will be supplementary funding. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Dr K.D. HAMES : I can tell members that he is a hard man to deal with. The GPs who had been providing that on-call roster did not have sufficient staff to cover it. We as a state government have filled those spaces with government-employed doctors. I understand that will solve the problem. If the member has information to suggest that might not be the case and there is still a problem, I would be more than happy to talk to him about it after question time.
Mr P.B. Watson interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Again, the member has not given me notice of the question. I cannot recall off the top of my head the names of the doctors or the practices. As a general concept, one of the practices was having problems with enough doctors in its team to provide a full 24-hour on-call roster at the hospital. This was seen by the Department of Health and local health officials to be of significant concern, so the health department has been talking through this issue with the local GPs. As a result of that—I think it is the only hospital to have specially done this—we have now allocated to the hospital doctors who work for the health department to fill in those gaps to help that particular practice with its inability to fulfil that roster. Mr E.S. Ripper : Do you think you have solved this issue? Dr K.D. HAMES : I was asked whether I was prepared to do it, remembering that—I should not say this while the Treasurer is listening—we had to find the extra funding internally that we do not usually have. Mr E.S. Ripper : I know from experience that that will be supplementary funding. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Dr K.D. HAMES : I can tell members that he is a hard man to deal with. The GPs who had been providing that on-call roster did not have sufficient staff to cover it. We as a state government have filled those spaces with government-employed doctors. I understand that will solve the problem. If the member has information to suggest that might not be the case and there is still a problem, I would be more than happy to talk to him about it after question time.
Dr K.D. HAMES : Again, the member has not given me notice of the question. I cannot recall off the top of my head the names of the doctors or the practices. As a general concept, one of the practices was having problems with enough doctors in its team to provide a full 24-hour on-call roster at the hospital. This was seen by the Department of Health and local health officials to be of significant concern, so the health department has been talking through this issue with the local GPs. As a result of that—I think it is the only hospital to have specially done this—we have now allocated to the hospital doctors who work for the health department to fill in those gaps to help that particular practice with its inability to fulfil that roster. Mr E.S. Ripper : Do you think you have solved this issue? Dr K.D. HAMES : I was asked whether I was prepared to do it, remembering that—I should not say this while the Treasurer is listening—we had to find the extra funding internally that we do not usually have. Mr E.S. Ripper : I know from experience that that will be supplementary funding. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Dr K.D. HAMES : I can tell members that he is a hard man to deal with. The GPs who had been providing that on-call roster did not have sufficient staff to cover it. We as a state government have filled those spaces with government-employed doctors. I understand that will solve the problem. If the member has information to suggest that might not be the case and there is still a problem, I would be more than happy to talk to him about it after question time.
Mr E.S. Ripper : Do you think you have solved this issue? Dr K.D. HAMES : I was asked whether I was prepared to do it, remembering that—I should not say this while the Treasurer is listening—we had to find the extra funding internally that we do not usually have. Mr E.S. Ripper : I know from experience that that will be supplementary funding. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Dr K.D. HAMES : I can tell members that he is a hard man to deal with. The GPs who had been providing that on-call roster did not have sufficient staff to cover it. We as a state government have filled those spaces with government-employed doctors. I understand that will solve the problem. If the member has information to suggest that might not be the case and there is still a problem, I would be more than happy to talk to him about it after question time.
Dr K.D. HAMES : I was asked whether I was prepared to do it, remembering that—I should not say this while the Treasurer is listening—we had to find the extra funding internally that we do not usually have. Mr E.S. Ripper : I know from experience that that will be supplementary funding. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Dr K.D. HAMES : I can tell members that he is a hard man to deal with. The GPs who had been providing that on-call roster did not have sufficient staff to cover it. We as a state government have filled those spaces with government-employed doctors. I understand that will solve the problem. If the member has information to suggest that might not be the case and there is still a problem, I would be more than happy to talk to him about it after question time.
Mr E.S. Ripper : I know from experience that that will be supplementary funding. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Dr K.D. HAMES : I can tell members that he is a hard man to deal with. The GPs who had been providing that on-call roster did not have sufficient staff to cover it. We as a state government have filled those spaces with government-employed doctors. I understand that will solve the problem. If the member has information to suggest that might not be the case and there is still a problem, I would be more than happy to talk to him about it after question time.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Dr K.D. HAMES : I can tell members that he is a hard man to deal with. The GPs who had been providing that on-call roster did not have sufficient staff to cover it. We as a state government have filled those spaces with government-employed doctors. I understand that will solve the problem. If the member has information to suggest that might not be the case and there is still a problem, I would be more than happy to talk to him about it after question time.
The SPEAKER : Order! Dr K.D. HAMES : I can tell members that he is a hard man to deal with. The GPs who had been providing that on-call roster did not have sufficient staff to cover it. We as a state government have filled those spaces with government-employed doctors. I understand that will solve the problem. If the member has information to suggest that might not be the case and there is still a problem, I would be more than happy to talk to him about it after question time.
Dr K.D. HAMES : I can tell members that he is a hard man to deal with. The GPs who had been providing that on-call roster did not have sufficient staff to cover it. We as a state government have filled those spaces with government-employed doctors. I understand that will solve the problem. If the member has information to suggest that might not be the case and there is still a problem, I would be more than happy to talk to him about it after question time.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.