❓ Mr Bolt questions the Minister for Health about the increasing frequency and appropriate use of 'code yellow' alerts in hospitals. The Minister clarifies their purpose as internal communication tools, not performance measures, and defends their use as a normal part of hospital operations.
AnsweredQoN 351Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
Health—Code yellow alerts351.Mr David Boltto
theMinister for Health:I refer to the
Premier's comment that "Code yellows are a normal part of the health
system" and our health system management.(1) Has the minister received a briefing from the
Department of Health that hospitals should expect to be under more code yellows
into the future?(2) Is it the case that code yellows should only
be used for internal emergencies that indicate patient outcomes could be
adversely affected?
theMinister for Health:I refer to the
Premier's comment that "Code yellows are a normal part of the health
system" and our health system management.(1) Has the minister received a briefing from the
Department of Health that hospitals should expect to be under more code yellows
into the future?(2) Is it the case that code yellows should only
be used for internal emergencies that indicate patient outcomes could be
adversely affected?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
19 August 2025
Response time
0 days
Ms Meredith Hammat replied:(1)–(2) I thank the member for the
question. A code yellow is an internal communication tool. That is what they
are there for. They allow staff in hospitals to communicate and trigger a
response. They can be called for a range of reasons. They are not a performance
measure, member, and I think that is really important to note. There are a wide
range of performance measures for the health system, most of which are publicly
available, but a code yellow is not one of those. They are very critical in a
hospital setting so that staff can quickly and effectively communicate with
each other. As I said, they can be called for a range of reasons.It is important that we do not
discourage staff from using them. They allow people to communicate with each
other and they allow for an appropriate response in the circumstances. Bearing
in mind that our hospitals are very dynamic environments and are constantly
responding to a whole range of different issues, code yellows are part of a
normal way of doing business.
Health—Code yellow alerts
question. A code yellow is an internal communication tool. That is what they
are there for. They allow staff in hospitals to communicate and trigger a
response. They can be called for a range of reasons. They are not a performance
measure, member, and I think that is really important to note. There are a wide
range of performance measures for the health system, most of which are publicly
available, but a code yellow is not one of those. They are very critical in a
hospital setting so that staff can quickly and effectively communicate with
each other. As I said, they can be called for a range of reasons.It is important that we do not
discourage staff from using them. They allow people to communicate with each
other and they allow for an appropriate response in the circumstances. Bearing
in mind that our hospitals are very dynamic environments and are constantly
responding to a whole range of different issues, code yellows are part of a
normal way of doing business.
Health—Code yellow alerts
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