❓ Opposition MP Cook questions the Minister for Health regarding reported breaches of the Serco contract at Fiona Stanley Hospital, leading to operation delays and potential patient safety risks. The Minister's response is deemed evasive, prompting a Point of Order.
AnsweredQoN 74Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
FIONA STANLEY HOSPITAL — SERCO CONTRACT —
OPERATION DELAYS
74. Mr R.H. COOK to the
Minister for Health:
Before I ask my question, I acknowledge on behalf of the
members for Bassendean and West Swan the presence in the gallery today of
members of the extended East Beechboro Primary School community.
I refer to reports that operations at Fiona Stanley Hospital
have been delayed or cancelled due to breaches of the Serco contract, with
possible implications for patient safety.
(1) What other
breaches of the Serco contract has the minister been informed of since the
beginning of the staged opening of the hospital?
(2) Is it not
the case that Serco cannot recruit adequate numbers of staff to perform its
contracted duties, to adhere to the contract?
OPERATION DELAYS
74. Mr R.H. COOK to the
Minister for Health:
Before I ask my question, I acknowledge on behalf of the
members for Bassendean and West Swan the presence in the gallery today of
members of the extended East Beechboro Primary School community.
I refer to reports that operations at Fiona Stanley Hospital
have been delayed or cancelled due to breaches of the Serco contract, with
possible implications for patient safety.
(1) What other
breaches of the Serco contract has the minister been informed of since the
beginning of the staged opening of the hospital?
(2) Is it not
the case that Serco cannot recruit adequate numbers of staff to perform its
contracted duties, to adhere to the contract?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) Serco has approximately 1 000 staff at
Fiona Stanley Hospital. It makes a massive contribution in the service it
provides to the state. Serco has 2 500 staff already, and 400 of those are at
Acacia Prison on a contract initiated by the Labor Party. It was not initiated
by us, but ''Mr Anti-privatisation'' on the Labor side. The Labor
Party initiated the contract with Serco.
Point of Order
Mr R.H. COOK : My question was
very clear and succinct: what other breaches of the Serco contract has the
minister been informed of since the beginning of the staged opening of the
hospital? There are no references to prisons and no references to previous
contracts.
Dr K.D. HAMES : Insofar as I
know, standing orders require that my answer be related to the question. Mr Speaker,
my second cousin is related to me, so the degree of relationship is entirely in
your hands, not in the hands of the opposition. I believe that it was related
to the question. The reason it is related to the question —
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Thank you. Minister, you can have a little lead-in, but come to
the answer, thanks.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Dr
K.D. HAMES : This is the area of difficulties with the contract that I am
aware of that have been brought to my attention. An answer has been provided to
the other place—it has just gone back, and I do not exactly recall what
that says; I apologise—that details some minor difficulties in other
areas, I think. But as I said, there are 25 areas of contracts.
Several members interjected.
Dr K.D. HAMES :
Only minor; I do not know what they are. I do not.
Mr
W.J. Johnston : You are the minister!
Dr
K.D. HAMES : It does not matter. With any contract that has 25 components
and an organisation that is just starting up, there will be areas that require
clarification and improvement, and those will happen all the time. I am sitting
down with Serco senior staff next week over this issue of equipment
sterilisation to go through with them in detail what we expect of them and what
they need to provide, and to make certain that our patients are safe. In answer
to the component of the member for Kwinana's question around the safety
of the patients, hundreds, if not thousands, of operations have been done at
that hospital already, and there have been some for which the sterilisation of
equipment has not been of the standard required. For those instances, either
packs have been sent back and new ones sent up or, where that has not been
possible to do in a short space of time, patients have had their operations
delayed. We put the safety of the patient first, and that has sometimes meant
some delays in the operations of patients. No patient's safety has been
put at risk.
Fiona Stanley Hospital. It makes a massive contribution in the service it
provides to the state. Serco has 2 500 staff already, and 400 of those are at
Acacia Prison on a contract initiated by the Labor Party. It was not initiated
by us, but ''Mr Anti-privatisation'' on the Labor side. The Labor
Party initiated the contract with Serco.
Point of Order
Mr R.H. COOK : My question was
very clear and succinct: what other breaches of the Serco contract has the
minister been informed of since the beginning of the staged opening of the
hospital? There are no references to prisons and no references to previous
contracts.
Dr K.D. HAMES : Insofar as I
know, standing orders require that my answer be related to the question. Mr Speaker,
my second cousin is related to me, so the degree of relationship is entirely in
your hands, not in the hands of the opposition. I believe that it was related
to the question. The reason it is related to the question —
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Thank you. Minister, you can have a little lead-in, but come to
the answer, thanks.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Dr
K.D. HAMES : This is the area of difficulties with the contract that I am
aware of that have been brought to my attention. An answer has been provided to
the other place—it has just gone back, and I do not exactly recall what
that says; I apologise—that details some minor difficulties in other
areas, I think. But as I said, there are 25 areas of contracts.
Several members interjected.
Dr K.D. HAMES :
Only minor; I do not know what they are. I do not.
Mr
W.J. Johnston : You are the minister!
Dr
K.D. HAMES : It does not matter. With any contract that has 25 components
and an organisation that is just starting up, there will be areas that require
clarification and improvement, and those will happen all the time. I am sitting
down with Serco senior staff next week over this issue of equipment
sterilisation to go through with them in detail what we expect of them and what
they need to provide, and to make certain that our patients are safe. In answer
to the component of the member for Kwinana's question around the safety
of the patients, hundreds, if not thousands, of operations have been done at
that hospital already, and there have been some for which the sterilisation of
equipment has not been of the standard required. For those instances, either
packs have been sent back and new ones sent up or, where that has not been
possible to do in a short space of time, patients have had their operations
delayed. We put the safety of the patient first, and that has sometimes meant
some delays in the operations of patients. No patient's safety has been
put at risk.
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