❓ Dr. Steve Thomas questions ambulance ramping, particularly concerning mental health and drug use patients. The response acknowledges the issue but states detailed data linkage is incomplete, preventing specific answers.
AnsweredQoN 140Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
AMBULANCE
RAMPING — PATIENT CLASSIFICATION
140. Hon
Dr STEVE THOMAS to the minister representing the Minister for Health:
My question without notice of which
some notice has been given is to the parliamentary secretary representing the
Minister for Health. I refer to the ramping of ambulances at state hospitals.
(1) What is the peak level of
ambulance ramping experienced in the last 12 months?
(2) What
proportion of patients who experienced ambulance ramping in the last year were
classified primarily under a mental health diagnostic–related grouping?
(3) What was the
average time of ramping for those patients classified primarily under a mental
health diagnostic–related grouping?
(4) What
proportion of patients who experienced ambulance ramping in the last year were
classified primarily under a drug use diagnostic–related grouping?
(5) What was the average time of ramping for those
patients classified primarily under a drug use diagnostic– related
grouping?
RAMPING — PATIENT CLASSIFICATION
140. Hon
Dr STEVE THOMAS to the minister representing the Minister for Health:
My question without notice of which
some notice has been given is to the parliamentary secretary representing the
Minister for Health. I refer to the ramping of ambulances at state hospitals.
(1) What is the peak level of
ambulance ramping experienced in the last 12 months?
(2) What
proportion of patients who experienced ambulance ramping in the last year were
classified primarily under a mental health diagnostic–related grouping?
(3) What was the
average time of ramping for those patients classified primarily under a mental
health diagnostic–related grouping?
(4) What
proportion of patients who experienced ambulance ramping in the last year were
classified primarily under a drug use diagnostic–related grouping?
(5) What was the average time of ramping for those
patients classified primarily under a drug use diagnostic– related
grouping?
AnswerView source ↗
I
thank the Leader of the Opposition for some notice of this question. I know
that he, too, is getting used to his new job, but of course, we have a minister
representing the Minister for Health in this place.
(1) The peak
number of ambulance attendances at metropolitan public emergency departments
over the last 12 months was 13 590 in the month of December.
(2)–(5) The
Department of Health reports on the transfer of care metric—the
percentage of ambulance patients transferred to the care of the ED within 30
minutes. Ramping hours, the total time in excess of 30 minutes that patients
wait for their care to be transferred to the hospital, remain publicly reported
by St John Ambulance, utilising a methodology that broadly aligns with that
used for the transfer of care metric.
The department continues to work
closely with St John Ambulance to improve the quality and consistency of
information to enable linkage of datasets collected by St John Ambulance and WA
Health. Until this work is complete, detailed responses on ramping hours by
particular patient cohorts are not available.
thank the Leader of the Opposition for some notice of this question. I know
that he, too, is getting used to his new job, but of course, we have a minister
representing the Minister for Health in this place.
(1) The peak
number of ambulance attendances at metropolitan public emergency departments
over the last 12 months was 13 590 in the month of December.
(2)–(5) The
Department of Health reports on the transfer of care metric—the
percentage of ambulance patients transferred to the care of the ED within 30
minutes. Ramping hours, the total time in excess of 30 minutes that patients
wait for their care to be transferred to the hospital, remain publicly reported
by St John Ambulance, utilising a methodology that broadly aligns with that
used for the transfer of care metric.
The department continues to work
closely with St John Ambulance to improve the quality and consistency of
information to enable linkage of datasets collected by St John Ambulance and WA
Health. Until this work is complete, detailed responses on ramping hours by
particular patient cohorts are not available.
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