❓ A WA parliamentary question addresses the closure of beds at Yarloop Hospital due to fire safety concerns, seeking commitment to restore full capacity and questioning the minister's dedication to regional health services. The Minister defends the decision as purely safety-related, citing expert advice about rapid fire spread, and admits he has not considered upgrades.
AnsweredQoN 983Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
I refer the minister to his statement in the House on 14 August 2003 regarding the closure of beds at Yarloop Hospital as a result of safety concerns. I quote - Significant fire risk problems have been identified and I am concerned there may be a serious problem for staff and patients. (1) In light of recent commitments by both the former Minister for Health and the South West Health Service director Michael Moody that services at Yarloop Hospital would be maintained, what action has the minister taken to ensure that the hospital will be restored to full capacity as soon as possible? (2) Will the minister now commit funds for an immediate capital upgrade to the hospital to restore it to full capacity? (3) If no to (2), will the minister admit that he is not genuine about providing access to quality health services for people in the south west? Mr J.A. McGINTY
AnswerView source ↗
(1)-(3) Firstly, this reconfiguration at Yarloop Hospital, capping the number of in-patients at six, had absolutely nothing to do with budgetary or financial considerations - it was purely a safety issue. The advice I received was that it would take approximately five minutes from a fire starting in the hospital for the hospital to be engulfed in an inferno. I was aware of discussions that took place two months earlier in the town of Yarloop in which a commitment was given to maintain services. However, when confronted with a safety issue of that magnitude, and having received advice that the only safe way to proceed for staff and patients was to cap the number of beds for in-patients at six, I had no option but to act in that way. I would have preferred to maintain the open hospital with, I believe, 10 beds operational on any day. I have given no consideration to ways that the Yarloop Hospital might be upgraded; that is the frank answer to the member’s final question.
Significant fire risk problems have been identified and I am concerned there may be a serious problem for staff and patients. (1) In light of recent commitments by both the former Minister for Health and the South West Health Service director Michael Moody that services at Yarloop Hospital would be maintained, what action has the minister taken to ensure that the hospital will be restored to full capacity as soon as possible? (2) Will the minister now commit funds for an immediate capital upgrade to the hospital to restore it to full capacity? (3) If no to (2), will the minister admit that he is not genuine about providing access to quality health services for people in the south west? Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) Firstly, this reconfiguration at Yarloop Hospital, capping the number of in-patients at six, had absolutely nothing to do with budgetary or financial considerations - it was purely a safety issue. The advice I received was that it would take approximately five minutes from a fire starting in the hospital for the hospital to be engulfed in an inferno. I was aware of discussions that took place two months earlier in the town of Yarloop in which a commitment was given to maintain services. However, when confronted with a safety issue of that magnitude, and having received advice that the only safe way to proceed for staff and patients was to cap the number of beds for in-patients at six, I had no option but to act in that way. I would have preferred to maintain the open hospital with, I believe, 10 beds operational on any day. I have given no consideration to ways that the Yarloop Hospital might be upgraded; that is the frank answer to the member’s final question.
(1) In light of recent commitments by both the former Minister for Health and the South West Health Service director Michael Moody that services at Yarloop Hospital would be maintained, what action has the minister taken to ensure that the hospital will be restored to full capacity as soon as possible? (2) Will the minister now commit funds for an immediate capital upgrade to the hospital to restore it to full capacity? (3) If no to (2), will the minister admit that he is not genuine about providing access to quality health services for people in the south west? Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) Firstly, this reconfiguration at Yarloop Hospital, capping the number of in-patients at six, had absolutely nothing to do with budgetary or financial considerations - it was purely a safety issue. The advice I received was that it would take approximately five minutes from a fire starting in the hospital for the hospital to be engulfed in an inferno. I was aware of discussions that took place two months earlier in the town of Yarloop in which a commitment was given to maintain services. However, when confronted with a safety issue of that magnitude, and having received advice that the only safe way to proceed for staff and patients was to cap the number of beds for in-patients at six, I had no option but to act in that way. I would have preferred to maintain the open hospital with, I believe, 10 beds operational on any day. I have given no consideration to ways that the Yarloop Hospital might be upgraded; that is the frank answer to the member’s final question.
(2) Will the minister now commit funds for an immediate capital upgrade to the hospital to restore it to full capacity? (3) If no to (2), will the minister admit that he is not genuine about providing access to quality health services for people in the south west? Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) Firstly, this reconfiguration at Yarloop Hospital, capping the number of in-patients at six, had absolutely nothing to do with budgetary or financial considerations - it was purely a safety issue. The advice I received was that it would take approximately five minutes from a fire starting in the hospital for the hospital to be engulfed in an inferno. I was aware of discussions that took place two months earlier in the town of Yarloop in which a commitment was given to maintain services. However, when confronted with a safety issue of that magnitude, and having received advice that the only safe way to proceed for staff and patients was to cap the number of beds for in-patients at six, I had no option but to act in that way. I would have preferred to maintain the open hospital with, I believe, 10 beds operational on any day. I have given no consideration to ways that the Yarloop Hospital might be upgraded; that is the frank answer to the member’s final question.
(3) If no to (2), will the minister admit that he is not genuine about providing access to quality health services for people in the south west? Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) Firstly, this reconfiguration at Yarloop Hospital, capping the number of in-patients at six, had absolutely nothing to do with budgetary or financial considerations - it was purely a safety issue. The advice I received was that it would take approximately five minutes from a fire starting in the hospital for the hospital to be engulfed in an inferno. I was aware of discussions that took place two months earlier in the town of Yarloop in which a commitment was given to maintain services. However, when confronted with a safety issue of that magnitude, and having received advice that the only safe way to proceed for staff and patients was to cap the number of beds for in-patients at six, I had no option but to act in that way. I would have preferred to maintain the open hospital with, I believe, 10 beds operational on any day. I have given no consideration to ways that the Yarloop Hospital might be upgraded; that is the frank answer to the member’s final question.
Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) Firstly, this reconfiguration at Yarloop Hospital, capping the number of in-patients at six, had absolutely nothing to do with budgetary or financial considerations - it was purely a safety issue. The advice I received was that it would take approximately five minutes from a fire starting in the hospital for the hospital to be engulfed in an inferno. I was aware of discussions that took place two months earlier in the town of Yarloop in which a commitment was given to maintain services. However, when confronted with a safety issue of that magnitude, and having received advice that the only safe way to proceed for staff and patients was to cap the number of beds for in-patients at six, I had no option but to act in that way. I would have preferred to maintain the open hospital with, I believe, 10 beds operational on any day. I have given no consideration to ways that the Yarloop Hospital might be upgraded; that is the frank answer to the member’s final question.
(1)-(3) Firstly, this reconfiguration at Yarloop Hospital, capping the number of in-patients at six, had absolutely nothing to do with budgetary or financial considerations - it was purely a safety issue. The advice I received was that it would take approximately five minutes from a fire starting in the hospital for the hospital to be engulfed in an inferno. I was aware of discussions that took place two months earlier in the town of Yarloop in which a commitment was given to maintain services. However, when confronted with a safety issue of that magnitude, and having received advice that the only safe way to proceed for staff and patients was to cap the number of beds for in-patients at six, I had no option but to act in that way. I would have preferred to maintain the open hospital with, I believe, 10 beds operational on any day. I have given no consideration to ways that the Yarloop Hospital might be upgraded; that is the frank answer to the member’s final question.
Significant fire risk problems have been identified and I am concerned there may be a serious problem for staff and patients. (1) In light of recent commitments by both the former Minister for Health and the South West Health Service director Michael Moody that services at Yarloop Hospital would be maintained, what action has the minister taken to ensure that the hospital will be restored to full capacity as soon as possible? (2) Will the minister now commit funds for an immediate capital upgrade to the hospital to restore it to full capacity? (3) If no to (2), will the minister admit that he is not genuine about providing access to quality health services for people in the south west? Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) Firstly, this reconfiguration at Yarloop Hospital, capping the number of in-patients at six, had absolutely nothing to do with budgetary or financial considerations - it was purely a safety issue. The advice I received was that it would take approximately five minutes from a fire starting in the hospital for the hospital to be engulfed in an inferno. I was aware of discussions that took place two months earlier in the town of Yarloop in which a commitment was given to maintain services. However, when confronted with a safety issue of that magnitude, and having received advice that the only safe way to proceed for staff and patients was to cap the number of beds for in-patients at six, I had no option but to act in that way. I would have preferred to maintain the open hospital with, I believe, 10 beds operational on any day. I have given no consideration to ways that the Yarloop Hospital might be upgraded; that is the frank answer to the member’s final question.
(1) In light of recent commitments by both the former Minister for Health and the South West Health Service director Michael Moody that services at Yarloop Hospital would be maintained, what action has the minister taken to ensure that the hospital will be restored to full capacity as soon as possible? (2) Will the minister now commit funds for an immediate capital upgrade to the hospital to restore it to full capacity? (3) If no to (2), will the minister admit that he is not genuine about providing access to quality health services for people in the south west? Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) Firstly, this reconfiguration at Yarloop Hospital, capping the number of in-patients at six, had absolutely nothing to do with budgetary or financial considerations - it was purely a safety issue. The advice I received was that it would take approximately five minutes from a fire starting in the hospital for the hospital to be engulfed in an inferno. I was aware of discussions that took place two months earlier in the town of Yarloop in which a commitment was given to maintain services. However, when confronted with a safety issue of that magnitude, and having received advice that the only safe way to proceed for staff and patients was to cap the number of beds for in-patients at six, I had no option but to act in that way. I would have preferred to maintain the open hospital with, I believe, 10 beds operational on any day. I have given no consideration to ways that the Yarloop Hospital might be upgraded; that is the frank answer to the member’s final question.
(2) Will the minister now commit funds for an immediate capital upgrade to the hospital to restore it to full capacity? (3) If no to (2), will the minister admit that he is not genuine about providing access to quality health services for people in the south west? Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) Firstly, this reconfiguration at Yarloop Hospital, capping the number of in-patients at six, had absolutely nothing to do with budgetary or financial considerations - it was purely a safety issue. The advice I received was that it would take approximately five minutes from a fire starting in the hospital for the hospital to be engulfed in an inferno. I was aware of discussions that took place two months earlier in the town of Yarloop in which a commitment was given to maintain services. However, when confronted with a safety issue of that magnitude, and having received advice that the only safe way to proceed for staff and patients was to cap the number of beds for in-patients at six, I had no option but to act in that way. I would have preferred to maintain the open hospital with, I believe, 10 beds operational on any day. I have given no consideration to ways that the Yarloop Hospital might be upgraded; that is the frank answer to the member’s final question.
(3) If no to (2), will the minister admit that he is not genuine about providing access to quality health services for people in the south west? Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) Firstly, this reconfiguration at Yarloop Hospital, capping the number of in-patients at six, had absolutely nothing to do with budgetary or financial considerations - it was purely a safety issue. The advice I received was that it would take approximately five minutes from a fire starting in the hospital for the hospital to be engulfed in an inferno. I was aware of discussions that took place two months earlier in the town of Yarloop in which a commitment was given to maintain services. However, when confronted with a safety issue of that magnitude, and having received advice that the only safe way to proceed for staff and patients was to cap the number of beds for in-patients at six, I had no option but to act in that way. I would have preferred to maintain the open hospital with, I believe, 10 beds operational on any day. I have given no consideration to ways that the Yarloop Hospital might be upgraded; that is the frank answer to the member’s final question.
Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) Firstly, this reconfiguration at Yarloop Hospital, capping the number of in-patients at six, had absolutely nothing to do with budgetary or financial considerations - it was purely a safety issue. The advice I received was that it would take approximately five minutes from a fire starting in the hospital for the hospital to be engulfed in an inferno. I was aware of discussions that took place two months earlier in the town of Yarloop in which a commitment was given to maintain services. However, when confronted with a safety issue of that magnitude, and having received advice that the only safe way to proceed for staff and patients was to cap the number of beds for in-patients at six, I had no option but to act in that way. I would have preferred to maintain the open hospital with, I believe, 10 beds operational on any day. I have given no consideration to ways that the Yarloop Hospital might be upgraded; that is the frank answer to the member’s final question.
(1)-(3) Firstly, this reconfiguration at Yarloop Hospital, capping the number of in-patients at six, had absolutely nothing to do with budgetary or financial considerations - it was purely a safety issue. The advice I received was that it would take approximately five minutes from a fire starting in the hospital for the hospital to be engulfed in an inferno. I was aware of discussions that took place two months earlier in the town of Yarloop in which a commitment was given to maintain services. However, when confronted with a safety issue of that magnitude, and having received advice that the only safe way to proceed for staff and patients was to cap the number of beds for in-patients at six, I had no option but to act in that way. I would have preferred to maintain the open hospital with, I believe, 10 beds operational on any day. I have given no consideration to ways that the Yarloop Hospital might be upgraded; that is the frank answer to the member’s final question.
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