❓ Hon Philip Scott questions the Minister for Health regarding elective surgery cancellations and the health system's capacity to handle patient surges, citing concerns from medical professionals. The Minister's response highlights proactive measures taken to manage demand and prioritise urgent care.
AnsweredQoN 624Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
Hospitals—Elective surgery cancellations
624. Hon Philip Scott to
the parliamentary secretary representing the
Minister for Health:
During the declared
COVID-19 state of emergency, the government repeatedly told us that draconian measures
such as border closures, vaccine mandates and lockdowns were to keep everyone
safe. Now an undeclared state of emergency is playing out in our hospitals,
with elective surgeries buttonholed across Perth yesterday.
(1) The president-elect of the Australasian
College for Emergency Medicine recently stated that WA has "built a health
system that has no surge capacity and can't cope with the natural fluctuations and
disease patterns". Can the minister confirm whether the health system has
no surge capacity and cannot cope with the natural fluctuations in disease
patterns?
(2) The WA President of the Australian Medical
Association appeared on Perth radio this week and said, "We don't have the
hospital system that's ready to deal with this amount of unwell people."
Can the minister confirm whether the health system is currently unable to
properly service the amount of unwell people in WA?
(3) Given these damning statements by medical
professionals, is the pandemic mantra of "keep everyone safe"
unachievable for this government, even with the pandemic behind us?
The President: Honourable member, I might ask that you
familiarise yourself with standing order 105(1), particularly the bit about
concise questions, before we come back for the next session.
624. Hon Philip Scott to
the parliamentary secretary representing the
Minister for Health:
During the declared
COVID-19 state of emergency, the government repeatedly told us that draconian measures
such as border closures, vaccine mandates and lockdowns were to keep everyone
safe. Now an undeclared state of emergency is playing out in our hospitals,
with elective surgeries buttonholed across Perth yesterday.
(1) The president-elect of the Australasian
College for Emergency Medicine recently stated that WA has "built a health
system that has no surge capacity and can't cope with the natural fluctuations and
disease patterns". Can the minister confirm whether the health system has
no surge capacity and cannot cope with the natural fluctuations in disease
patterns?
(2) The WA President of the Australian Medical
Association appeared on Perth radio this week and said, "We don't have the
hospital system that's ready to deal with this amount of unwell people."
Can the minister confirm whether the health system is currently unable to
properly service the amount of unwell people in WA?
(3) Given these damning statements by medical
professionals, is the pandemic mantra of "keep everyone safe"
unachievable for this government, even with the pandemic behind us?
The President: Honourable member, I might ask that you
familiarise yourself with standing order 105(1), particularly the bit about
concise questions, before we come back for the next session.
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the
honourable member for some notice of the question. The following answer has
been provided by the Minister for Health.
(1)–(3) The Western Australian health
system's proactive measures taken this week were to manage a surge in demand in
our emergency departments, prioritising those who need the most urgent care to
receive it. The safety of patients and ensuring that they receive the best
possible care is a priority and why the WA health system has taken steps to
ensure urgent surgeries continue, and patient flow and demand is being managed
collaboratively between our health service providers and the State Health
Operations Centre.
honourable member for some notice of the question. The following answer has
been provided by the Minister for Health.
(1)–(3) The Western Australian health
system's proactive measures taken this week were to manage a surge in demand in
our emergency departments, prioritising those who need the most urgent care to
receive it. The safety of patients and ensuring that they receive the best
possible care is a priority and why the WA health system has taken steps to
ensure urgent surgeries continue, and patient flow and demand is being managed
collaboratively between our health service providers and the State Health
Operations Centre.
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