❓ Ms. Mettam questions the Minister for Health about the capacity of WA's stretched health system to cope with the upcoming flu season, given existing pressures. The Minister responds by highlighting government investment in healthcare and criticising the opposition's past stance on flu seasons.
AnsweredQoN 159Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
FLU SEASON
159. Ms L. METTAM to the Minister for Health:
On the first day of winter, with
record ambulance ramping at our state's hospitals over the past five
months and multiple code yellows at our
metropolitan hospitals already this week, what assurance can the minister give
the people of WA that our already stretched health system will be able
to cope with the inevitable influx of flu cases across the winter months?
159. Ms L. METTAM to the Minister for Health:
On the first day of winter, with
record ambulance ramping at our state's hospitals over the past five
months and multiple code yellows at our
metropolitan hospitals already this week, what assurance can the minister give
the people of WA that our already stretched health system will be able
to cope with the inevitable influx of flu cases across the winter months?
AnswerView source ↗
I remember 2019 when we had our
worst flu season on record and the Liberals actually decided that it did not
exist and criticised us for saying that there was a flu season. This year they
have embraced the flu season before it has even begun. It is good to see that
their understanding of these things is evolving.
Obviously, the flu season represents
a challenge for the hospital system every year, with the exception of last year
when there was no flu season because, strangely enough, when everyone stays
away from each other and monitors their physical distancing and personal
hygiene, communicable diseases such as influenza tend not to take hold. But we
expect that there will be a flu season of sorts this year, and that is why it
is so important that everyone takes the opportunity now to get themselves their
flu jab for the year. This is the best way that we, as a community, can respond
to the seasonal disease profiles and it is incredibly important this year more
than any other because we know that our hospital system is under greater
pressure than it has ever been. This has been witnessed throughout the country. We are seeing record ambulance
call-outs. The Royal Flying Doctor Service alone has seen a 10 per cent increase in its activity. We are seeing hospitals
right across the country, be it in Queensland, Victoria or South Australia ,
all confronting significant upticks in terms of volumes, acuity, mental health presentations,
and long-term patient stays as a result of the National Disability Insurance
Scheme and aged-care assessment process.
We
know that we need to continue to provide more resources to the health system,
which is the reason why we have recently announced 117 beds as part of
an immediate response to expand our hospital system to make sure that we have
the capacity we need to meet demand. Eighty-one of those beds are now in
operation —
[Interruption.]
Mr R.H. COOK : And they are
coming at discounts, discounts, discounts, Madam Speaker!
The final of those 117 beds will be
brought in by August this year. In addition, we are expanding our emergency
departments with 95 extra beds and chairs over the coming few years and an
extra 500 beds as part of that package right
across our hospital system. The way we make sure that we continue to have the
resources we need to meet the demand
pressures on our hospitals is by having a government that invests in health;
having a government that makes sure that we can open those beds because
it has managed the finances appropriately; and having a government that can go out and recruit an extra 600 nurses over
the next two years, which means that we will have 1 000 new nurses this
year and 1 000 new nurses next year. We have done the hard work to make sure
that we have the finances in place and the health policies in place so that we
can meet these challenges.
It
is going to be tough. Our health system is under more pressure than it has been
on record. Last week, I had a meeting with the Attorney General and a senior
member of one of our metropolitan hospital systems, who said that in his 31 years of working in an ED, he has never seen a higher
sustained level of presentations and intensity of emergency department
activity. I was talking to one of our top cardiothoracic surgeons last night.
He said that in his 41 years, he has never seen such demand and pressure on our
hospitals as he has seen over the past six months. We are doing everything we
can to respond to that and that is because we have managed the finances
properly and we have a government that wants to put patients first.
The SPEAKER : I hope the
member for Landsdale makes an appropriate donation to charity in
acknowledgement of that interruption.
worst flu season on record and the Liberals actually decided that it did not
exist and criticised us for saying that there was a flu season. This year they
have embraced the flu season before it has even begun. It is good to see that
their understanding of these things is evolving.
Obviously, the flu season represents
a challenge for the hospital system every year, with the exception of last year
when there was no flu season because, strangely enough, when everyone stays
away from each other and monitors their physical distancing and personal
hygiene, communicable diseases such as influenza tend not to take hold. But we
expect that there will be a flu season of sorts this year, and that is why it
is so important that everyone takes the opportunity now to get themselves their
flu jab for the year. This is the best way that we, as a community, can respond
to the seasonal disease profiles and it is incredibly important this year more
than any other because we know that our hospital system is under greater
pressure than it has ever been. This has been witnessed throughout the country. We are seeing record ambulance
call-outs. The Royal Flying Doctor Service alone has seen a 10 per cent increase in its activity. We are seeing hospitals
right across the country, be it in Queensland, Victoria or South Australia ,
all confronting significant upticks in terms of volumes, acuity, mental health presentations,
and long-term patient stays as a result of the National Disability Insurance
Scheme and aged-care assessment process.
We
know that we need to continue to provide more resources to the health system,
which is the reason why we have recently announced 117 beds as part of
an immediate response to expand our hospital system to make sure that we have
the capacity we need to meet demand. Eighty-one of those beds are now in
operation —
[Interruption.]
Mr R.H. COOK : And they are
coming at discounts, discounts, discounts, Madam Speaker!
The final of those 117 beds will be
brought in by August this year. In addition, we are expanding our emergency
departments with 95 extra beds and chairs over the coming few years and an
extra 500 beds as part of that package right
across our hospital system. The way we make sure that we continue to have the
resources we need to meet the demand
pressures on our hospitals is by having a government that invests in health;
having a government that makes sure that we can open those beds because
it has managed the finances appropriately; and having a government that can go out and recruit an extra 600 nurses over
the next two years, which means that we will have 1 000 new nurses this
year and 1 000 new nurses next year. We have done the hard work to make sure
that we have the finances in place and the health policies in place so that we
can meet these challenges.
It
is going to be tough. Our health system is under more pressure than it has been
on record. Last week, I had a meeting with the Attorney General and a senior
member of one of our metropolitan hospital systems, who said that in his 31 years of working in an ED, he has never seen a higher
sustained level of presentations and intensity of emergency department
activity. I was talking to one of our top cardiothoracic surgeons last night.
He said that in his 41 years, he has never seen such demand and pressure on our
hospitals as he has seen over the past six months. We are doing everything we
can to respond to that and that is because we have managed the finances
properly and we have a government that wants to put patients first.
The SPEAKER : I hope the
member for Landsdale makes an appropriate donation to charity in
acknowledgement of that interruption.
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