❓ Mr. McGowan questions the Minister for Health regarding Serco's failure to manage sterilisation procedures at Fiona Stanley Hospital and the associated costs and contract breaches. The Minister acknowledges the problem and outlines steps taken, stating Serco will cover additional costs.
AnsweredQoN 71Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
FIONA
STANLEY HOSPITAL — SERCO CONTRACT — STERILISATION PROCEDURES
71. Mr M. McGOWAN to the
Minister for Health:
I refer to yet another failure
within the health portfolio in which Serco has been unable to successfully
manage the critical role of the sterilisation of medical equipment at Fiona
Stanley Hospital. Health Department staff have had to work alongside, and take
the lead from, Serco staff.
(1) What is the additional cost to
the Department of Health of covering this service?
(2) What other
hospitals or areas have Department of Health staff been taken from to perform
services at Fiona Stanley Hospital?
(3) By how much
will payments to Serco be reduced due to these breaches of contract?
STANLEY HOSPITAL — SERCO CONTRACT — STERILISATION PROCEDURES
71. Mr M. McGOWAN to the
Minister for Health:
I refer to yet another failure
within the health portfolio in which Serco has been unable to successfully
manage the critical role of the sterilisation of medical equipment at Fiona
Stanley Hospital. Health Department staff have had to work alongside, and take
the lead from, Serco staff.
(1) What is the additional cost to
the Department of Health of covering this service?
(2) What other
hospitals or areas have Department of Health staff been taken from to perform
services at Fiona Stanley Hospital?
(3) By how much
will payments to Serco be reduced due to these breaches of contract?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(3)
Yes, there has been a problem with Serco's sterilisation procedures at
Fiona Stanley Hospital. I have been aware of this since some time in December.
Since that time, our staff have been working very closely to try to get Serco's
standards up to an acceptable level in providing those —
Mr R.H. Cook interjected.
Dr K.D. HAMES :
Remember, Serco provides a lot of other services as well. I think there is
something like 30-odd contracts altogether, and this is one area in which it
has had problems—one area out of all of those. It is a very important
issue. We have been working with Serco and it has been issued a breach. Again,
we have not been satisfied with the response to these problems that has been
provided by Serco along the way, so yes, we have taken staff from other
hospitals. I think they have come from Fremantle Hospital. I am not certain,
but because Fremantle Hospital has significantly downsized its service, it has
staff that are now in excess of requirements for a short-term contract such as
this. I think someone who was going to finish in three months is now going
there for that last three months of their contract at Fremantle Hospital, and
they are working alongside the Serco staff to make sure that they get up to
standard. If they do not, there is provision within the contract for the
government to take over that service, which is a possibility if Serco does not
meet the standards required.
In terms of the cost, there will be no cost to government.
The costs of those additional staff will be covered by Serco. In fact, if the
contract is taken off Serco, we will take back the funds that would otherwise
be spent on servicing that contract.
Yes, there has been a problem with Serco's sterilisation procedures at
Fiona Stanley Hospital. I have been aware of this since some time in December.
Since that time, our staff have been working very closely to try to get Serco's
standards up to an acceptable level in providing those —
Mr R.H. Cook interjected.
Dr K.D. HAMES :
Remember, Serco provides a lot of other services as well. I think there is
something like 30-odd contracts altogether, and this is one area in which it
has had problems—one area out of all of those. It is a very important
issue. We have been working with Serco and it has been issued a breach. Again,
we have not been satisfied with the response to these problems that has been
provided by Serco along the way, so yes, we have taken staff from other
hospitals. I think they have come from Fremantle Hospital. I am not certain,
but because Fremantle Hospital has significantly downsized its service, it has
staff that are now in excess of requirements for a short-term contract such as
this. I think someone who was going to finish in three months is now going
there for that last three months of their contract at Fremantle Hospital, and
they are working alongside the Serco staff to make sure that they get up to
standard. If they do not, there is provision within the contract for the
government to take over that service, which is a possibility if Serco does not
meet the standards required.
In terms of the cost, there will be no cost to government.
The costs of those additional staff will be covered by Serco. In fact, if the
contract is taken off Serco, we will take back the funds that would otherwise
be spent on servicing that contract.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.