❓ Ms. Mettam questions the slow implementation of recommendations from the Perth Children's Hospital inquiry following Aishwarya Aswath's death. The Minister defends the progress, citing systemic changes, staff commitment, and ongoing implementation.
AnsweredQoN 795Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
PERTH CHILDREN'S
HOSPITAL — INDEPENDENT INQUIRY REPORT
795. Ms L. METTAM to the Minister for Health:
I refer to the independent inquiry
into Perth Children's Hospital that was tabled on 9 November 2021 and
the minister's answer in this place last week that only 11 of the 30 recommendations
have been completed.
Given
it has been 19 months since the tragic death of Aishwarya Aswath, which
triggered the inquiry, and more than a year since the report was tabled,
why have these measures not been prioritised with the urgency that they
deserve?
HOSPITAL — INDEPENDENT INQUIRY REPORT
795. Ms L. METTAM to the Minister for Health:
I refer to the independent inquiry
into Perth Children's Hospital that was tabled on 9 November 2021 and
the minister's answer in this place last week that only 11 of the 30 recommendations
have been completed.
Given
it has been 19 months since the tragic death of Aishwarya Aswath, which
triggered the inquiry, and more than a year since the report was tabled,
why have these measures not been prioritised with the urgency that they
deserve?
AnswerView source ↗
I have made the point many, many
times in this place that they are absolutely priorities for the Child and
Adolescent Health Service and for the system as a whole. It does not do the
staff on the ground any justice at all when members opposite consistently criticise their efforts to implement these
recommendations, because that is ultimately who is implementing them—the
staff on the ground. Many of those recommendations involve significant cultural
and systems changes that require time to
embed across the entire system. That is the commitment that we as a government have made to driving those; that is the
commitment made by the board chair, led by Dr Rosanna Capolingua—a very highly regarded, experienced medical professional with a deep commitment to
patient outcomes and patient care. I have never met anyone so committed and so
focused on driving outcomes in this organisation.
We have seen significant change in
the executive of CAHS over the last 12 months, as well as at the board level. I
know that there is a deep commitment from the staff on the ground to ensure
that the circumstances that occurred on the night that Aishwarya died never
happen again. There has been a significant staffing uplift. There have been significant rostering changes, and we have taken
on board the Australian Nursing Federation's 10-point plan, as well as those 30 recommendations. It is one of three reports that are being
implemented at this point in time to shift the culture and make sure we get
really good patient-centred outcomes.
The answer that I gave was that more
than a third of those recommendations have been actually implemented. Another
third will be finalised. They are all in the process of being implemented and
finalised early next year. Eight of those
recommendations are part of a longer transformational journey. Members opposite
cannot reduce this to a simple sound bite, no matter how they try. This
is a genuine, thorough work-through of processes and culture to ensure that we
have good patient outcomes in our Perth Children's Hospital.
times in this place that they are absolutely priorities for the Child and
Adolescent Health Service and for the system as a whole. It does not do the
staff on the ground any justice at all when members opposite consistently criticise their efforts to implement these
recommendations, because that is ultimately who is implementing them—the
staff on the ground. Many of those recommendations involve significant cultural
and systems changes that require time to
embed across the entire system. That is the commitment that we as a government have made to driving those; that is the
commitment made by the board chair, led by Dr Rosanna Capolingua—a very highly regarded, experienced medical professional with a deep commitment to
patient outcomes and patient care. I have never met anyone so committed and so
focused on driving outcomes in this organisation.
We have seen significant change in
the executive of CAHS over the last 12 months, as well as at the board level. I
know that there is a deep commitment from the staff on the ground to ensure
that the circumstances that occurred on the night that Aishwarya died never
happen again. There has been a significant staffing uplift. There have been significant rostering changes, and we have taken
on board the Australian Nursing Federation's 10-point plan, as well as those 30 recommendations. It is one of three reports that are being
implemented at this point in time to shift the culture and make sure we get
really good patient-centred outcomes.
The answer that I gave was that more
than a third of those recommendations have been actually implemented. Another
third will be finalised. They are all in the process of being implemented and
finalised early next year. Eight of those
recommendations are part of a longer transformational journey. Members opposite
cannot reduce this to a simple sound bite, no matter how they try. This
is a genuine, thorough work-through of processes and culture to ensure that we
have good patient outcomes in our Perth Children's Hospital.
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