❓ Ms Mettam questions the delay in addressing overcrowding at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital's ED, citing repeated code yellow emergencies. The Minister responds by outlining the redevelopment plans, challenges faced, and the benefits of the new ED.
AnsweredQoN 685Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
SIR CHARLES GAIRDNER
HOSPITAL — EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT
685. Ms L. METTAM to the Minister for Health:
I refer to claims that Sir Charles
Gairdner Hospital's emergency department was at breaking point, on some
days operating at more than 200 per cent
capacity and had been in a continuous code yellow emergency state for more than five days last week. Given this issue has been well-known since 2021 when Sir
Charles Gairdner Hospital went into code
yellow 144 times, or once every two and a half days, why has it taken the
government so long—four years— to address this issue and
release the tender for the ED redevelopment?
HOSPITAL — EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT
685. Ms L. METTAM to the Minister for Health:
I refer to claims that Sir Charles
Gairdner Hospital's emergency department was at breaking point, on some
days operating at more than 200 per cent
capacity and had been in a continuous code yellow emergency state for more than five days last week. Given this issue has been well-known since 2021 when Sir
Charles Gairdner Hospital went into code
yellow 144 times, or once every two and a half days, why has it taken the
government so long—four years— to address this issue and
release the tender for the ED redevelopment?
AnswerView source ↗
Many members will recall that a few
weeks ago, we announced the tender for the redevelopment of Sir Charles
Gairdner Hospital's emergency department. It is a program that was
committed to under the COVID-19 recovery funding under the former Minister for
Health. It is no secret, as the Minister for Housing and I consistently
outline, that our construction market is overburdened with work and that we
need to streamline that work and provide a pipeline
of work. Under this government and the Department of Health, local contractors
will have a 10-year pipeline of infrastructure work. There was a range
of challenges with that project, including restrictions on construction in the
state with the current workforce capacity and cost escalations that needed
Treasury review, but we got there. Further, a few redesign processes were
required. With the decision to move the women's and newborns'
hospital off that site, a redesign process of the emergency department was
required. We had to go back to clinicians to engage in that. They are all very
legitimate reasons to do that. Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital is one of our
busiest tertiary emergency departments. The new emergency department will
provide more bays overall to bring people in
off ambulances quicker. It will provide a fast-track area, which will mean that
those patients who need a pit-stop and rapid access to the acute medical
ward will be worked up very quickly, with bloods, imaging and so on and so forth,
and will be sent straight up. It will also have a drug and alcohol mental
health observation unit to allow a more appropriate setting for many of the
patients who attend the emergency department at Charlies who are experiencing
acute mental health, alcohol and drug issues. There is also going to be what is
called an ambulatory fast track, which is essentially our ''walking
wounded'', if you like. I hate the word ambulatory; nobody knows what it
means. They are essentially those who do not need to be admitted but have a break
or a sprain or something that needs to be seen to quickly. This is an
incredible outcome for Charlies. It goes with the expansion of 10 more ICU beds
at Charlies to support them. This is a great addition to Charlies. It is a busy
hospital and I acknowledge that. That is why this government is committed to
expanding the emergency department and expanding the ICU.
weeks ago, we announced the tender for the redevelopment of Sir Charles
Gairdner Hospital's emergency department. It is a program that was
committed to under the COVID-19 recovery funding under the former Minister for
Health. It is no secret, as the Minister for Housing and I consistently
outline, that our construction market is overburdened with work and that we
need to streamline that work and provide a pipeline
of work. Under this government and the Department of Health, local contractors
will have a 10-year pipeline of infrastructure work. There was a range
of challenges with that project, including restrictions on construction in the
state with the current workforce capacity and cost escalations that needed
Treasury review, but we got there. Further, a few redesign processes were
required. With the decision to move the women's and newborns'
hospital off that site, a redesign process of the emergency department was
required. We had to go back to clinicians to engage in that. They are all very
legitimate reasons to do that. Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital is one of our
busiest tertiary emergency departments. The new emergency department will
provide more bays overall to bring people in
off ambulances quicker. It will provide a fast-track area, which will mean that
those patients who need a pit-stop and rapid access to the acute medical
ward will be worked up very quickly, with bloods, imaging and so on and so forth,
and will be sent straight up. It will also have a drug and alcohol mental
health observation unit to allow a more appropriate setting for many of the
patients who attend the emergency department at Charlies who are experiencing
acute mental health, alcohol and drug issues. There is also going to be what is
called an ambulatory fast track, which is essentially our ''walking
wounded'', if you like. I hate the word ambulatory; nobody knows what it
means. They are essentially those who do not need to be admitted but have a break
or a sprain or something that needs to be seen to quickly. This is an
incredible outcome for Charlies. It goes with the expansion of 10 more ICU beds
at Charlies to support them. This is a great addition to Charlies. It is a busy
hospital and I acknowledge that. That is why this government is committed to
expanding the emergency department and expanding the ICU.
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