❓ The Minister avoids directly answering questions about immediate improvements to waiting lists and ambulance bypass issues, instead focusing on the long-term vision and benefits of the proposed health reforms, emphasizing increased bed numbers and reduced duplication of services.
AnsweredQoN 74Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
I refer the minister to the recommendations of the Health Reform Committee, which will bring about the closure and amalgamation of every single one of our major teaching and specialist hospitals and which the minister’s Government has been secretly progressing. (1) Will the minister confirm that this plan will not reduce waiting lists for elective surgery, such as hip and stomach operations, in the next 12 or even 24 months? (2) Will the minister confirm that this plan will not ease ambulance bypass problems, as a result of which patients have been treated in the back of ambulances outside hospitals, in the next 12 or 24 months? (3) Will the minister confirm that absolutely nothing in this plan will address the urgent issues in our health system today or even in the next few years? Mr J.A. McGINTY
AnswerView source ↗
(1)-(3) What has been sadly lacking in the public health system in Western Australia as far back as I can remember, and I presume as far back as any member of this House can remember, is a business plan that has been laid out and that addresses how to match shifts in population and meet the real needs of the public. As a consequence of not having that plan in place, ad hoc decisions have been made. Governments have said that as there was an election coming up, they would promise a new heart surgery unit or a new ward; they have responded in an ad hoc way to the pressures. Is it any wonder that the State’s hospital system is now in trouble? One of the great underlying problems with the State’s health system has been the chewing up of resources between Royal Perth Hospital and Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital duplicating the work of each other within a couple of kilometres of each other. We must address that issue. Reid’s recommendation for the merger of those two hospitals has been in the public arena for several weeks. I am delighted that the public understands that the State needs some radical surgery on its hospital system to address the chewing up of resources that takes place as a result of those two hospitals duplicating each other in a most wasteful way. Let us look at the broad vision which has been so sorely lacking in our health system. All this material is in the public arena. People south of the river have been great winners as a result of the Reid plan. They will get a new 600-bed hospital built where the public is, somewhere between Murdoch and Thomsons Lake. We will also increase the size of the two major suburban hospitals in the southern corridor - that is, Armadale and Rockingham - up to 300 beds. That will mean almost 1 000 additional beds south of the river. What a tremendous thing that is for everyone who lives in Perth’s southern suburbs. There is more. What about the northern suburbs? By merging Royal Perth Hospital and Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital into one super hospital, we will be able to do away with the wasteful duplication and make sure that we can spend those precious resources on meeting real needs. Joondalup Health Campus will be upgraded. Swan District Hospital will be dramatically expanded. We saw an example this week in the mental health area of why more beds need to be made available to cater for the needs of the Midland and Swan Valley area. We will take that hospital and build it up to 300 beds. That is tremendous vision. It is putting the facilities where the people are. Another thing that Reid recommends is that in future as the population in the burgeoning northern suburbs continues to increase, we create a third tertiary hospital in the Joondalup area to cater for the needs of people in the northern suburbs. That is a fantastic increase in the number of beds and the services that will be available where people live, not just in the central business district area, which is where the State’s teaching hospitals are currently located. This report is breathtaking in its vision. I believe it will provide us with the way forward for the future. The real challenge for the Leader of the Opposition, the shadow Minister for Health and members of the Opposition will be to get on board and to make sure that we have bipartisan support in the future to include the State’s health services. They can sit back and whinge, moan, complain and try to find a negative element if they want to; alternatively, they can get on board and help deliver world-class services to the people of Western Australia. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Darling Range for the second time. I call to order the members for Nedlands, Alfred Cove and Warren-Blackwood.
(1) Will the minister confirm that this plan will not reduce waiting lists for elective surgery, such as hip and stomach operations, in the next 12 or even 24 months? (2) Will the minister confirm that this plan will not ease ambulance bypass problems, as a result of which patients have been treated in the back of ambulances outside hospitals, in the next 12 or 24 months? (3) Will the minister confirm that absolutely nothing in this plan will address the urgent issues in our health system today or even in the next few years? Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) What has been sadly lacking in the public health system in Western Australia as far back as I can remember, and I presume as far back as any member of this House can remember, is a business plan that has been laid out and that addresses how to match shifts in population and meet the real needs of the public. As a consequence of not having that plan in place, ad hoc decisions have been made. Governments have said that as there was an election coming up, they would promise a new heart surgery unit or a new ward; they have responded in an ad hoc way to the pressures. Is it any wonder that the State’s hospital system is now in trouble? One of the great underlying problems with the State’s health system has been the chewing up of resources between Royal Perth Hospital and Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital duplicating the work of each other within a couple of kilometres of each other. We must address that issue. Reid’s recommendation for the merger of those two hospitals has been in the public arena for several weeks. I am delighted that the public understands that the State needs some radical surgery on its hospital system to address the chewing up of resources that takes place as a result of those two hospitals duplicating each other in a most wasteful way. Let us look at the broad vision which has been so sorely lacking in our health system. All this material is in the public arena. People south of the river have been great winners as a result of the Reid plan. They will get a new 600-bed hospital built where the public is, somewhere between Murdoch and Thomsons Lake. We will also increase the size of the two major suburban hospitals in the southern corridor - that is, Armadale and Rockingham - up to 300 beds. That will mean almost 1 000 additional beds south of the river. What a tremendous thing that is for everyone who lives in Perth’s southern suburbs. There is more. What about the northern suburbs? By merging Royal Perth Hospital and Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital into one super hospital, we will be able to do away with the wasteful duplication and make sure that we can spend those precious resources on meeting real needs. Joondalup Health Campus will be upgraded. Swan District Hospital will be dramatically expanded. We saw an example this week in the mental health area of why more beds need to be made available to cater for the needs of the Midland and Swan Valley area. We will take that hospital and build it up to 300 beds. That is tremendous vision. It is putting the facilities where the people are. Another thing that Reid recommends is that in future as the population in the burgeoning northern suburbs continues to increase, we create a third tertiary hospital in the Joondalup area to cater for the needs of people in the northern suburbs. That is a fantastic increase in the number of beds and the services that will be available where people live, not just in the central business district area, which is where the State’s teaching hospitals are currently located. This report is breathtaking in its vision. I believe it will provide us with the way forward for the future. The real challenge for the Leader of the Opposition, the shadow Minister for Health and members of the Opposition will be to get on board and to make sure that we have bipartisan support in the future to include the State’s health services. They can sit back and whinge, moan, complain and try to find a negative element if they want to; alternatively, they can get on board and help deliver world-class services to the people of Western Australia. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Darling Range for the second time. I call to order the members for Nedlands, Alfred Cove and Warren-Blackwood.
(2) Will the minister confirm that this plan will not ease ambulance bypass problems, as a result of which patients have been treated in the back of ambulances outside hospitals, in the next 12 or 24 months? (3) Will the minister confirm that absolutely nothing in this plan will address the urgent issues in our health system today or even in the next few years? Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) What has been sadly lacking in the public health system in Western Australia as far back as I can remember, and I presume as far back as any member of this House can remember, is a business plan that has been laid out and that addresses how to match shifts in population and meet the real needs of the public. As a consequence of not having that plan in place, ad hoc decisions have been made. Governments have said that as there was an election coming up, they would promise a new heart surgery unit or a new ward; they have responded in an ad hoc way to the pressures. Is it any wonder that the State’s hospital system is now in trouble? One of the great underlying problems with the State’s health system has been the chewing up of resources between Royal Perth Hospital and Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital duplicating the work of each other within a couple of kilometres of each other. We must address that issue. Reid’s recommendation for the merger of those two hospitals has been in the public arena for several weeks. I am delighted that the public understands that the State needs some radical surgery on its hospital system to address the chewing up of resources that takes place as a result of those two hospitals duplicating each other in a most wasteful way. Let us look at the broad vision which has been so sorely lacking in our health system. All this material is in the public arena. People south of the river have been great winners as a result of the Reid plan. They will get a new 600-bed hospital built where the public is, somewhere between Murdoch and Thomsons Lake. We will also increase the size of the two major suburban hospitals in the southern corridor - that is, Armadale and Rockingham - up to 300 beds. That will mean almost 1 000 additional beds south of the river. What a tremendous thing that is for everyone who lives in Perth’s southern suburbs. There is more. What about the northern suburbs? By merging Royal Perth Hospital and Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital into one super hospital, we will be able to do away with the wasteful duplication and make sure that we can spend those precious resources on meeting real needs. Joondalup Health Campus will be upgraded. Swan District Hospital will be dramatically expanded. We saw an example this week in the mental health area of why more beds need to be made available to cater for the needs of the Midland and Swan Valley area. We will take that hospital and build it up to 300 beds. That is tremendous vision. It is putting the facilities where the people are. Another thing that Reid recommends is that in future as the population in the burgeoning northern suburbs continues to increase, we create a third tertiary hospital in the Joondalup area to cater for the needs of people in the northern suburbs. That is a fantastic increase in the number of beds and the services that will be available where people live, not just in the central business district area, which is where the State’s teaching hospitals are currently located. This report is breathtaking in its vision. I believe it will provide us with the way forward for the future. The real challenge for the Leader of the Opposition, the shadow Minister for Health and members of the Opposition will be to get on board and to make sure that we have bipartisan support in the future to include the State’s health services. They can sit back and whinge, moan, complain and try to find a negative element if they want to; alternatively, they can get on board and help deliver world-class services to the people of Western Australia. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Darling Range for the second time. I call to order the members for Nedlands, Alfred Cove and Warren-Blackwood.
(3) Will the minister confirm that absolutely nothing in this plan will address the urgent issues in our health system today or even in the next few years? Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) What has been sadly lacking in the public health system in Western Australia as far back as I can remember, and I presume as far back as any member of this House can remember, is a business plan that has been laid out and that addresses how to match shifts in population and meet the real needs of the public. As a consequence of not having that plan in place, ad hoc decisions have been made. Governments have said that as there was an election coming up, they would promise a new heart surgery unit or a new ward; they have responded in an ad hoc way to the pressures. Is it any wonder that the State’s hospital system is now in trouble? One of the great underlying problems with the State’s health system has been the chewing up of resources between Royal Perth Hospital and Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital duplicating the work of each other within a couple of kilometres of each other. We must address that issue. Reid’s recommendation for the merger of those two hospitals has been in the public arena for several weeks. I am delighted that the public understands that the State needs some radical surgery on its hospital system to address the chewing up of resources that takes place as a result of those two hospitals duplicating each other in a most wasteful way. Let us look at the broad vision which has been so sorely lacking in our health system. All this material is in the public arena. People south of the river have been great winners as a result of the Reid plan. They will get a new 600-bed hospital built where the public is, somewhere between Murdoch and Thomsons Lake. We will also increase the size of the two major suburban hospitals in the southern corridor - that is, Armadale and Rockingham - up to 300 beds. That will mean almost 1 000 additional beds south of the river. What a tremendous thing that is for everyone who lives in Perth’s southern suburbs. There is more. What about the northern suburbs? By merging Royal Perth Hospital and Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital into one super hospital, we will be able to do away with the wasteful duplication and make sure that we can spend those precious resources on meeting real needs. Joondalup Health Campus will be upgraded. Swan District Hospital will be dramatically expanded. We saw an example this week in the mental health area of why more beds need to be made available to cater for the needs of the Midland and Swan Valley area. We will take that hospital and build it up to 300 beds. That is tremendous vision. It is putting the facilities where the people are. Another thing that Reid recommends is that in future as the population in the burgeoning northern suburbs continues to increase, we create a third tertiary hospital in the Joondalup area to cater for the needs of people in the northern suburbs. That is a fantastic increase in the number of beds and the services that will be available where people live, not just in the central business district area, which is where the State’s teaching hospitals are currently located. This report is breathtaking in its vision. I believe it will provide us with the way forward for the future. The real challenge for the Leader of the Opposition, the shadow Minister for Health and members of the Opposition will be to get on board and to make sure that we have bipartisan support in the future to include the State’s health services. They can sit back and whinge, moan, complain and try to find a negative element if they want to; alternatively, they can get on board and help deliver world-class services to the people of Western Australia. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Darling Range for the second time. I call to order the members for Nedlands, Alfred Cove and Warren-Blackwood.
Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) What has been sadly lacking in the public health system in Western Australia as far back as I can remember, and I presume as far back as any member of this House can remember, is a business plan that has been laid out and that addresses how to match shifts in population and meet the real needs of the public. As a consequence of not having that plan in place, ad hoc decisions have been made. Governments have said that as there was an election coming up, they would promise a new heart surgery unit or a new ward; they have responded in an ad hoc way to the pressures. Is it any wonder that the State’s hospital system is now in trouble? One of the great underlying problems with the State’s health system has been the chewing up of resources between Royal Perth Hospital and Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital duplicating the work of each other within a couple of kilometres of each other. We must address that issue. Reid’s recommendation for the merger of those two hospitals has been in the public arena for several weeks. I am delighted that the public understands that the State needs some radical surgery on its hospital system to address the chewing up of resources that takes place as a result of those two hospitals duplicating each other in a most wasteful way. Let us look at the broad vision which has been so sorely lacking in our health system. All this material is in the public arena. People south of the river have been great winners as a result of the Reid plan. They will get a new 600-bed hospital built where the public is, somewhere between Murdoch and Thomsons Lake. We will also increase the size of the two major suburban hospitals in the southern corridor - that is, Armadale and Rockingham - up to 300 beds. That will mean almost 1 000 additional beds south of the river. What a tremendous thing that is for everyone who lives in Perth’s southern suburbs. There is more. What about the northern suburbs? By merging Royal Perth Hospital and Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital into one super hospital, we will be able to do away with the wasteful duplication and make sure that we can spend those precious resources on meeting real needs. Joondalup Health Campus will be upgraded. Swan District Hospital will be dramatically expanded. We saw an example this week in the mental health area of why more beds need to be made available to cater for the needs of the Midland and Swan Valley area. We will take that hospital and build it up to 300 beds. That is tremendous vision. It is putting the facilities where the people are. Another thing that Reid recommends is that in future as the population in the burgeoning northern suburbs continues to increase, we create a third tertiary hospital in the Joondalup area to cater for the needs of people in the northern suburbs. That is a fantastic increase in the number of beds and the services that will be available where people live, not just in the central business district area, which is where the State’s teaching hospitals are currently located. This report is breathtaking in its vision. I believe it will provide us with the way forward for the future. The real challenge for the Leader of the Opposition, the shadow Minister for Health and members of the Opposition will be to get on board and to make sure that we have bipartisan support in the future to include the State’s health services. They can sit back and whinge, moan, complain and try to find a negative element if they want to; alternatively, they can get on board and help deliver world-class services to the people of Western Australia. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Darling Range for the second time. I call to order the members for Nedlands, Alfred Cove and Warren-Blackwood.
(1)-(3) What has been sadly lacking in the public health system in Western Australia as far back as I can remember, and I presume as far back as any member of this House can remember, is a business plan that has been laid out and that addresses how to match shifts in population and meet the real needs of the public. As a consequence of not having that plan in place, ad hoc decisions have been made. Governments have said that as there was an election coming up, they would promise a new heart surgery unit or a new ward; they have responded in an ad hoc way to the pressures. Is it any wonder that the State’s hospital system is now in trouble? One of the great underlying problems with the State’s health system has been the chewing up of resources between Royal Perth Hospital and Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital duplicating the work of each other within a couple of kilometres of each other. We must address that issue. Reid’s recommendation for the merger of those two hospitals has been in the public arena for several weeks. I am delighted that the public understands that the State needs some radical surgery on its hospital system to address the chewing up of resources that takes place as a result of those two hospitals duplicating each other in a most wasteful way. Let us look at the broad vision which has been so sorely lacking in our health system. All this material is in the public arena. People south of the river have been great winners as a result of the Reid plan. They will get a new 600-bed hospital built where the public is, somewhere between Murdoch and Thomsons Lake. We will also increase the size of the two major suburban hospitals in the southern corridor - that is, Armadale and Rockingham - up to 300 beds. That will mean almost 1 000 additional beds south of the river. What a tremendous thing that is for everyone who lives in Perth’s southern suburbs. There is more. What about the northern suburbs? By merging Royal Perth Hospital and Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital into one super hospital, we will be able to do away with the wasteful duplication and make sure that we can spend those precious resources on meeting real needs. Joondalup Health Campus will be upgraded. Swan District Hospital will be dramatically expanded. We saw an example this week in the mental health area of why more beds need to be made available to cater for the needs of the Midland and Swan Valley area. We will take that hospital and build it up to 300 beds. That is tremendous vision. It is putting the facilities where the people are. Another thing that Reid recommends is that in future as the population in the burgeoning northern suburbs continues to increase, we create a third tertiary hospital in the Joondalup area to cater for the needs of people in the northern suburbs. That is a fantastic increase in the number of beds and the services that will be available where people live, not just in the central business district area, which is where the State’s teaching hospitals are currently located. This report is breathtaking in its vision. I believe it will provide us with the way forward for the future. The real challenge for the Leader of the Opposition, the shadow Minister for Health and members of the Opposition will be to get on board and to make sure that we have bipartisan support in the future to include the State’s health services. They can sit back and whinge, moan, complain and try to find a negative element if they want to; alternatively, they can get on board and help deliver world-class services to the people of Western Australia. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Darling Range for the second time. I call to order the members for Nedlands, Alfred Cove and Warren-Blackwood.
Let us look at the broad vision which has been so sorely lacking in our health system. All this material is in the public arena. People south of the river have been great winners as a result of the Reid plan. They will get a new 600-bed hospital built where the public is, somewhere between Murdoch and Thomsons Lake. We will also increase the size of the two major suburban hospitals in the southern corridor - that is, Armadale and Rockingham - up to 300 beds. That will mean almost 1 000 additional beds south of the river. What a tremendous thing that is for everyone who lives in Perth’s southern suburbs. There is more. What about the northern suburbs? By merging Royal Perth Hospital and Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital into one super hospital, we will be able to do away with the wasteful duplication and make sure that we can spend those precious resources on meeting real needs. Joondalup Health Campus will be upgraded. Swan District Hospital will be dramatically expanded. We saw an example this week in the mental health area of why more beds need to be made available to cater for the needs of the Midland and Swan Valley area. We will take that hospital and build it up to 300 beds. That is tremendous vision. It is putting the facilities where the people are. Another thing that Reid recommends is that in future as the population in the burgeoning northern suburbs continues to increase, we create a third tertiary hospital in the Joondalup area to cater for the needs of people in the northern suburbs. That is a fantastic increase in the number of beds and the services that will be available where people live, not just in the central business district area, which is where the State’s teaching hospitals are currently located. This report is breathtaking in its vision. I believe it will provide us with the way forward for the future. The real challenge for the Leader of the Opposition, the shadow Minister for Health and members of the Opposition will be to get on board and to make sure that we have bipartisan support in the future to include the State’s health services. They can sit back and whinge, moan, complain and try to find a negative element if they want to; alternatively, they can get on board and help deliver world-class services to the people of Western Australia.
Another thing that Reid recommends is that in future as the population in the burgeoning northern suburbs continues to increase, we create a third tertiary hospital in the Joondalup area to cater for the needs of people in the northern suburbs. That is a fantastic increase in the number of beds and the services that will be available where people live, not just in the central business district area, which is where the State’s teaching hospitals are currently located. This report is breathtaking in its vision. I believe it will provide us with the way forward for the future. The real challenge for the Leader of the Opposition, the shadow Minister for Health and members of the Opposition will be to get on board and to make sure that we have bipartisan support in the future to include the State’s health services. They can sit back and whinge, moan, complain and try to find a negative element if they want to; alternatively, they can get on board and help deliver world-class services to the people of Western Australia.
The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Darling Range for the second time. I call to order the members for Nedlands, Alfred Cove and Warren-Blackwood.
(1) Will the minister confirm that this plan will not reduce waiting lists for elective surgery, such as hip and stomach operations, in the next 12 or even 24 months? (2) Will the minister confirm that this plan will not ease ambulance bypass problems, as a result of which patients have been treated in the back of ambulances outside hospitals, in the next 12 or 24 months? (3) Will the minister confirm that absolutely nothing in this plan will address the urgent issues in our health system today or even in the next few years? Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) What has been sadly lacking in the public health system in Western Australia as far back as I can remember, and I presume as far back as any member of this House can remember, is a business plan that has been laid out and that addresses how to match shifts in population and meet the real needs of the public. As a consequence of not having that plan in place, ad hoc decisions have been made. Governments have said that as there was an election coming up, they would promise a new heart surgery unit or a new ward; they have responded in an ad hoc way to the pressures. Is it any wonder that the State’s hospital system is now in trouble? One of the great underlying problems with the State’s health system has been the chewing up of resources between Royal Perth Hospital and Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital duplicating the work of each other within a couple of kilometres of each other. We must address that issue. Reid’s recommendation for the merger of those two hospitals has been in the public arena for several weeks. I am delighted that the public understands that the State needs some radical surgery on its hospital system to address the chewing up of resources that takes place as a result of those two hospitals duplicating each other in a most wasteful way. Let us look at the broad vision which has been so sorely lacking in our health system. All this material is in the public arena. People south of the river have been great winners as a result of the Reid plan. They will get a new 600-bed hospital built where the public is, somewhere between Murdoch and Thomsons Lake. We will also increase the size of the two major suburban hospitals in the southern corridor - that is, Armadale and Rockingham - up to 300 beds. That will mean almost 1 000 additional beds south of the river. What a tremendous thing that is for everyone who lives in Perth’s southern suburbs. There is more. What about the northern suburbs? By merging Royal Perth Hospital and Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital into one super hospital, we will be able to do away with the wasteful duplication and make sure that we can spend those precious resources on meeting real needs. Joondalup Health Campus will be upgraded. Swan District Hospital will be dramatically expanded. We saw an example this week in the mental health area of why more beds need to be made available to cater for the needs of the Midland and Swan Valley area. We will take that hospital and build it up to 300 beds. That is tremendous vision. It is putting the facilities where the people are. Another thing that Reid recommends is that in future as the population in the burgeoning northern suburbs continues to increase, we create a third tertiary hospital in the Joondalup area to cater for the needs of people in the northern suburbs. That is a fantastic increase in the number of beds and the services that will be available where people live, not just in the central business district area, which is where the State’s teaching hospitals are currently located. This report is breathtaking in its vision. I believe it will provide us with the way forward for the future. The real challenge for the Leader of the Opposition, the shadow Minister for Health and members of the Opposition will be to get on board and to make sure that we have bipartisan support in the future to include the State’s health services. They can sit back and whinge, moan, complain and try to find a negative element if they want to; alternatively, they can get on board and help deliver world-class services to the people of Western Australia. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Darling Range for the second time. I call to order the members for Nedlands, Alfred Cove and Warren-Blackwood.
(2) Will the minister confirm that this plan will not ease ambulance bypass problems, as a result of which patients have been treated in the back of ambulances outside hospitals, in the next 12 or 24 months? (3) Will the minister confirm that absolutely nothing in this plan will address the urgent issues in our health system today or even in the next few years? Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) What has been sadly lacking in the public health system in Western Australia as far back as I can remember, and I presume as far back as any member of this House can remember, is a business plan that has been laid out and that addresses how to match shifts in population and meet the real needs of the public. As a consequence of not having that plan in place, ad hoc decisions have been made. Governments have said that as there was an election coming up, they would promise a new heart surgery unit or a new ward; they have responded in an ad hoc way to the pressures. Is it any wonder that the State’s hospital system is now in trouble? One of the great underlying problems with the State’s health system has been the chewing up of resources between Royal Perth Hospital and Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital duplicating the work of each other within a couple of kilometres of each other. We must address that issue. Reid’s recommendation for the merger of those two hospitals has been in the public arena for several weeks. I am delighted that the public understands that the State needs some radical surgery on its hospital system to address the chewing up of resources that takes place as a result of those two hospitals duplicating each other in a most wasteful way. Let us look at the broad vision which has been so sorely lacking in our health system. All this material is in the public arena. People south of the river have been great winners as a result of the Reid plan. They will get a new 600-bed hospital built where the public is, somewhere between Murdoch and Thomsons Lake. We will also increase the size of the two major suburban hospitals in the southern corridor - that is, Armadale and Rockingham - up to 300 beds. That will mean almost 1 000 additional beds south of the river. What a tremendous thing that is for everyone who lives in Perth’s southern suburbs. There is more. What about the northern suburbs? By merging Royal Perth Hospital and Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital into one super hospital, we will be able to do away with the wasteful duplication and make sure that we can spend those precious resources on meeting real needs. Joondalup Health Campus will be upgraded. Swan District Hospital will be dramatically expanded. We saw an example this week in the mental health area of why more beds need to be made available to cater for the needs of the Midland and Swan Valley area. We will take that hospital and build it up to 300 beds. That is tremendous vision. It is putting the facilities where the people are. Another thing that Reid recommends is that in future as the population in the burgeoning northern suburbs continues to increase, we create a third tertiary hospital in the Joondalup area to cater for the needs of people in the northern suburbs. That is a fantastic increase in the number of beds and the services that will be available where people live, not just in the central business district area, which is where the State’s teaching hospitals are currently located. This report is breathtaking in its vision. I believe it will provide us with the way forward for the future. The real challenge for the Leader of the Opposition, the shadow Minister for Health and members of the Opposition will be to get on board and to make sure that we have bipartisan support in the future to include the State’s health services. They can sit back and whinge, moan, complain and try to find a negative element if they want to; alternatively, they can get on board and help deliver world-class services to the people of Western Australia. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Darling Range for the second time. I call to order the members for Nedlands, Alfred Cove and Warren-Blackwood.
(3) Will the minister confirm that absolutely nothing in this plan will address the urgent issues in our health system today or even in the next few years? Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) What has been sadly lacking in the public health system in Western Australia as far back as I can remember, and I presume as far back as any member of this House can remember, is a business plan that has been laid out and that addresses how to match shifts in population and meet the real needs of the public. As a consequence of not having that plan in place, ad hoc decisions have been made. Governments have said that as there was an election coming up, they would promise a new heart surgery unit or a new ward; they have responded in an ad hoc way to the pressures. Is it any wonder that the State’s hospital system is now in trouble? One of the great underlying problems with the State’s health system has been the chewing up of resources between Royal Perth Hospital and Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital duplicating the work of each other within a couple of kilometres of each other. We must address that issue. Reid’s recommendation for the merger of those two hospitals has been in the public arena for several weeks. I am delighted that the public understands that the State needs some radical surgery on its hospital system to address the chewing up of resources that takes place as a result of those two hospitals duplicating each other in a most wasteful way. Let us look at the broad vision which has been so sorely lacking in our health system. All this material is in the public arena. People south of the river have been great winners as a result of the Reid plan. They will get a new 600-bed hospital built where the public is, somewhere between Murdoch and Thomsons Lake. We will also increase the size of the two major suburban hospitals in the southern corridor - that is, Armadale and Rockingham - up to 300 beds. That will mean almost 1 000 additional beds south of the river. What a tremendous thing that is for everyone who lives in Perth’s southern suburbs. There is more. What about the northern suburbs? By merging Royal Perth Hospital and Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital into one super hospital, we will be able to do away with the wasteful duplication and make sure that we can spend those precious resources on meeting real needs. Joondalup Health Campus will be upgraded. Swan District Hospital will be dramatically expanded. We saw an example this week in the mental health area of why more beds need to be made available to cater for the needs of the Midland and Swan Valley area. We will take that hospital and build it up to 300 beds. That is tremendous vision. It is putting the facilities where the people are. Another thing that Reid recommends is that in future as the population in the burgeoning northern suburbs continues to increase, we create a third tertiary hospital in the Joondalup area to cater for the needs of people in the northern suburbs. That is a fantastic increase in the number of beds and the services that will be available where people live, not just in the central business district area, which is where the State’s teaching hospitals are currently located. This report is breathtaking in its vision. I believe it will provide us with the way forward for the future. The real challenge for the Leader of the Opposition, the shadow Minister for Health and members of the Opposition will be to get on board and to make sure that we have bipartisan support in the future to include the State’s health services. They can sit back and whinge, moan, complain and try to find a negative element if they want to; alternatively, they can get on board and help deliver world-class services to the people of Western Australia. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Darling Range for the second time. I call to order the members for Nedlands, Alfred Cove and Warren-Blackwood.
Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) What has been sadly lacking in the public health system in Western Australia as far back as I can remember, and I presume as far back as any member of this House can remember, is a business plan that has been laid out and that addresses how to match shifts in population and meet the real needs of the public. As a consequence of not having that plan in place, ad hoc decisions have been made. Governments have said that as there was an election coming up, they would promise a new heart surgery unit or a new ward; they have responded in an ad hoc way to the pressures. Is it any wonder that the State’s hospital system is now in trouble? One of the great underlying problems with the State’s health system has been the chewing up of resources between Royal Perth Hospital and Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital duplicating the work of each other within a couple of kilometres of each other. We must address that issue. Reid’s recommendation for the merger of those two hospitals has been in the public arena for several weeks. I am delighted that the public understands that the State needs some radical surgery on its hospital system to address the chewing up of resources that takes place as a result of those two hospitals duplicating each other in a most wasteful way. Let us look at the broad vision which has been so sorely lacking in our health system. All this material is in the public arena. People south of the river have been great winners as a result of the Reid plan. They will get a new 600-bed hospital built where the public is, somewhere between Murdoch and Thomsons Lake. We will also increase the size of the two major suburban hospitals in the southern corridor - that is, Armadale and Rockingham - up to 300 beds. That will mean almost 1 000 additional beds south of the river. What a tremendous thing that is for everyone who lives in Perth’s southern suburbs. There is more. What about the northern suburbs? By merging Royal Perth Hospital and Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital into one super hospital, we will be able to do away with the wasteful duplication and make sure that we can spend those precious resources on meeting real needs. Joondalup Health Campus will be upgraded. Swan District Hospital will be dramatically expanded. We saw an example this week in the mental health area of why more beds need to be made available to cater for the needs of the Midland and Swan Valley area. We will take that hospital and build it up to 300 beds. That is tremendous vision. It is putting the facilities where the people are. Another thing that Reid recommends is that in future as the population in the burgeoning northern suburbs continues to increase, we create a third tertiary hospital in the Joondalup area to cater for the needs of people in the northern suburbs. That is a fantastic increase in the number of beds and the services that will be available where people live, not just in the central business district area, which is where the State’s teaching hospitals are currently located. This report is breathtaking in its vision. I believe it will provide us with the way forward for the future. The real challenge for the Leader of the Opposition, the shadow Minister for Health and members of the Opposition will be to get on board and to make sure that we have bipartisan support in the future to include the State’s health services. They can sit back and whinge, moan, complain and try to find a negative element if they want to; alternatively, they can get on board and help deliver world-class services to the people of Western Australia. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Darling Range for the second time. I call to order the members for Nedlands, Alfred Cove and Warren-Blackwood.
(1)-(3) What has been sadly lacking in the public health system in Western Australia as far back as I can remember, and I presume as far back as any member of this House can remember, is a business plan that has been laid out and that addresses how to match shifts in population and meet the real needs of the public. As a consequence of not having that plan in place, ad hoc decisions have been made. Governments have said that as there was an election coming up, they would promise a new heart surgery unit or a new ward; they have responded in an ad hoc way to the pressures. Is it any wonder that the State’s hospital system is now in trouble? One of the great underlying problems with the State’s health system has been the chewing up of resources between Royal Perth Hospital and Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital duplicating the work of each other within a couple of kilometres of each other. We must address that issue. Reid’s recommendation for the merger of those two hospitals has been in the public arena for several weeks. I am delighted that the public understands that the State needs some radical surgery on its hospital system to address the chewing up of resources that takes place as a result of those two hospitals duplicating each other in a most wasteful way. Let us look at the broad vision which has been so sorely lacking in our health system. All this material is in the public arena. People south of the river have been great winners as a result of the Reid plan. They will get a new 600-bed hospital built where the public is, somewhere between Murdoch and Thomsons Lake. We will also increase the size of the two major suburban hospitals in the southern corridor - that is, Armadale and Rockingham - up to 300 beds. That will mean almost 1 000 additional beds south of the river. What a tremendous thing that is for everyone who lives in Perth’s southern suburbs. There is more. What about the northern suburbs? By merging Royal Perth Hospital and Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital into one super hospital, we will be able to do away with the wasteful duplication and make sure that we can spend those precious resources on meeting real needs. Joondalup Health Campus will be upgraded. Swan District Hospital will be dramatically expanded. We saw an example this week in the mental health area of why more beds need to be made available to cater for the needs of the Midland and Swan Valley area. We will take that hospital and build it up to 300 beds. That is tremendous vision. It is putting the facilities where the people are. Another thing that Reid recommends is that in future as the population in the burgeoning northern suburbs continues to increase, we create a third tertiary hospital in the Joondalup area to cater for the needs of people in the northern suburbs. That is a fantastic increase in the number of beds and the services that will be available where people live, not just in the central business district area, which is where the State’s teaching hospitals are currently located. This report is breathtaking in its vision. I believe it will provide us with the way forward for the future. The real challenge for the Leader of the Opposition, the shadow Minister for Health and members of the Opposition will be to get on board and to make sure that we have bipartisan support in the future to include the State’s health services. They can sit back and whinge, moan, complain and try to find a negative element if they want to; alternatively, they can get on board and help deliver world-class services to the people of Western Australia. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Darling Range for the second time. I call to order the members for Nedlands, Alfred Cove and Warren-Blackwood.
Let us look at the broad vision which has been so sorely lacking in our health system. All this material is in the public arena. People south of the river have been great winners as a result of the Reid plan. They will get a new 600-bed hospital built where the public is, somewhere between Murdoch and Thomsons Lake. We will also increase the size of the two major suburban hospitals in the southern corridor - that is, Armadale and Rockingham - up to 300 beds. That will mean almost 1 000 additional beds south of the river. What a tremendous thing that is for everyone who lives in Perth’s southern suburbs. There is more. What about the northern suburbs? By merging Royal Perth Hospital and Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital into one super hospital, we will be able to do away with the wasteful duplication and make sure that we can spend those precious resources on meeting real needs. Joondalup Health Campus will be upgraded. Swan District Hospital will be dramatically expanded. We saw an example this week in the mental health area of why more beds need to be made available to cater for the needs of the Midland and Swan Valley area. We will take that hospital and build it up to 300 beds. That is tremendous vision. It is putting the facilities where the people are. Another thing that Reid recommends is that in future as the population in the burgeoning northern suburbs continues to increase, we create a third tertiary hospital in the Joondalup area to cater for the needs of people in the northern suburbs. That is a fantastic increase in the number of beds and the services that will be available where people live, not just in the central business district area, which is where the State’s teaching hospitals are currently located. This report is breathtaking in its vision. I believe it will provide us with the way forward for the future. The real challenge for the Leader of the Opposition, the shadow Minister for Health and members of the Opposition will be to get on board and to make sure that we have bipartisan support in the future to include the State’s health services. They can sit back and whinge, moan, complain and try to find a negative element if they want to; alternatively, they can get on board and help deliver world-class services to the people of Western Australia.
Another thing that Reid recommends is that in future as the population in the burgeoning northern suburbs continues to increase, we create a third tertiary hospital in the Joondalup area to cater for the needs of people in the northern suburbs. That is a fantastic increase in the number of beds and the services that will be available where people live, not just in the central business district area, which is where the State’s teaching hospitals are currently located. This report is breathtaking in its vision. I believe it will provide us with the way forward for the future. The real challenge for the Leader of the Opposition, the shadow Minister for Health and members of the Opposition will be to get on board and to make sure that we have bipartisan support in the future to include the State’s health services. They can sit back and whinge, moan, complain and try to find a negative element if they want to; alternatively, they can get on board and help deliver world-class services to the people of Western Australia.
The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Darling Range for the second time. I call to order the members for Nedlands, Alfred Cove and Warren-Blackwood.
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