❓ Mrs. O'Malley asks about the Patient Transport Coordination Hub and its impact on ambulance ramping. The Minister for Health details initiatives like the State Health Operations Centre (SHOC) and WA Virtual Emergency Department (WAVED) aimed at improving patient flow and reducing administrative burdens.
AnsweredQoN 12Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
AMBULANCE RAMPING —
PATIENT TRANSPORT COORDINATION HU B
12. Mrs L.M. O'MALLEY to the Minister for Health:
I refer to the Cook Labor government's
delivery of initiatives to reduce ambulance ramping and address its underlying
causes.
(1) Can the
minister outline to the house how the new patient transport coordination hub
will work with the state health operations centre to improve access to
emergency care for patients across Western Australia?
(2) Can the
minister advise how these investments in emergency care will reduce ambulance
ramping and provide the best possible patient experience?
PATIENT TRANSPORT COORDINATION HU B
12. Mrs L.M. O'MALLEY to the Minister for Health:
I refer to the Cook Labor government's
delivery of initiatives to reduce ambulance ramping and address its underlying
causes.
(1) Can the
minister outline to the house how the new patient transport coordination hub
will work with the state health operations centre to improve access to
emergency care for patients across Western Australia?
(2) Can the
minister advise how these investments in emergency care will reduce ambulance
ramping and provide the best possible patient experience?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) I thank the member for Bicton for the question. As
we know, the Cook government is absolutely committed to improving flow
in our hospitals and improving access to health care for Western Australians.
Early signs of success for many of our
reforms include the state health operations centre. Over the last six months ,
we have seen a 32 per cent reduction in ramping on the previous year. The state
health operations centre forms part of around half a billion dollars'
worth of reforms that we are investing in our health system. That is on top of
more staff. It is on top of more beds. We are determined to continue on this
trajectory of improvements and lifting the performance of the health system.
The state health operations centre is a real game changer for pre-hospital care
in Western Australia. Any reform that is going to tackle some of the congestion
issues that we see in our hospitals has to deal with the front end, what
happens inside the hospital and what happens when people are discharged—whether
it is aged care, mental health or disability. The SHOC deals with the front
end. It coordinates all the factors that need to be coordinated in managing
where a patient goes and where the flow needs to go. It coordinates all the
inter-hospital transfers. It has a bird's-eye view of all the
ambulances and all the beds available. Much of that investment in SHOC is
real-time data that will tell us on a screen what beds are available and where
we need to move people. That also includes regional patients who are coming in
for ICU, for example. What happens now is that staff have to call various
hospitals. In country hospitals or regional towns, they have to call each hospital or go through the WA Country Health
Service command centre. We will relieve them of that burden so that they
can spend more time on clinical care. We also announced the Patient Transport
Coordination Hub, or PaTCH, which will reduce waiting times for interhospital
transfers for many patients and reduce the administrative burden on nurses and
doctors, because nurses and doctors currently do that work and make those
calls. We are taking that away from them and freeing them up to provide more
time for clinical care. Of course, last year we announced the WA Virtual
Emergency Department, which was developed with clinicians. These proposals,
SHOC and WAVED, were developed by clinicians. We have supported them with
funding and the structural support that they need. We have a relatively small
trial with St John Ambulance that provides virtual care in an emergency. We
will soon expand it to general practitioners and paramedics on the scene, and
there is a lot of excitement about that. We took some time to develop the WAVED approach and model, because it has to be
patient-centred and patient-focused. It also has to do what we want it
to do, which is to avoid those unnecessary ED admissions. The feedback from
particularly patients and aged-care staff
and clinicians has been extremely positive, which is fantastic. We will
continue to roll that out. These are fundamental and important reforms
that will help deal with the front-end emergency part of our hospital system.
For too long it has been fragmented and difficult to navigate for both patients
and clinicians. This will provide that system coordination and lift in
performance that we will continue to see in our health system.
we know, the Cook government is absolutely committed to improving flow
in our hospitals and improving access to health care for Western Australians.
Early signs of success for many of our
reforms include the state health operations centre. Over the last six months ,
we have seen a 32 per cent reduction in ramping on the previous year. The state
health operations centre forms part of around half a billion dollars'
worth of reforms that we are investing in our health system. That is on top of
more staff. It is on top of more beds. We are determined to continue on this
trajectory of improvements and lifting the performance of the health system.
The state health operations centre is a real game changer for pre-hospital care
in Western Australia. Any reform that is going to tackle some of the congestion
issues that we see in our hospitals has to deal with the front end, what
happens inside the hospital and what happens when people are discharged—whether
it is aged care, mental health or disability. The SHOC deals with the front
end. It coordinates all the factors that need to be coordinated in managing
where a patient goes and where the flow needs to go. It coordinates all the
inter-hospital transfers. It has a bird's-eye view of all the
ambulances and all the beds available. Much of that investment in SHOC is
real-time data that will tell us on a screen what beds are available and where
we need to move people. That also includes regional patients who are coming in
for ICU, for example. What happens now is that staff have to call various
hospitals. In country hospitals or regional towns, they have to call each hospital or go through the WA Country Health
Service command centre. We will relieve them of that burden so that they
can spend more time on clinical care. We also announced the Patient Transport
Coordination Hub, or PaTCH, which will reduce waiting times for interhospital
transfers for many patients and reduce the administrative burden on nurses and
doctors, because nurses and doctors currently do that work and make those
calls. We are taking that away from them and freeing them up to provide more
time for clinical care. Of course, last year we announced the WA Virtual
Emergency Department, which was developed with clinicians. These proposals,
SHOC and WAVED, were developed by clinicians. We have supported them with
funding and the structural support that they need. We have a relatively small
trial with St John Ambulance that provides virtual care in an emergency. We
will soon expand it to general practitioners and paramedics on the scene, and
there is a lot of excitement about that. We took some time to develop the WAVED approach and model, because it has to be
patient-centred and patient-focused. It also has to do what we want it
to do, which is to avoid those unnecessary ED admissions. The feedback from
particularly patients and aged-care staff
and clinicians has been extremely positive, which is fantastic. We will
continue to roll that out. These are fundamental and important reforms
that will help deal with the front-end emergency part of our hospital system.
For too long it has been fragmented and difficult to navigate for both patients
and clinicians. This will provide that system coordination and lift in
performance that we will continue to see in our health system.
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