❓ Mrs. Munday questions the Minister for Health on the government's plan to address ambulance ramping. The Minister responds by outlining investments in beds, staffing, and alternative care models, while criticizing the opposition's lack of a detailed plan.
AnsweredQoN 780Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
AMBULANCE RAMPING
780. Mrs L.A. MUNDAY to the Minister for Health:
I refer to the Cook Labor government's
comprehensive plan to address the root cause of ambulance ramping.
(1) Can the minister update the house on the Labor
government's efforts to alleviate demand on our emergency departments and reduce ambulance ramping?
(2) Can the
minister also please outline to the house whether she is aware of any
alternative approaches to address this demand?
780. Mrs L.A. MUNDAY to the Minister for Health:
I refer to the Cook Labor government's
comprehensive plan to address the root cause of ambulance ramping.
(1) Can the minister update the house on the Labor
government's efforts to alleviate demand on our emergency departments and reduce ambulance ramping?
(2) Can the
minister also please outline to the house whether she is aware of any
alternative approaches to address this demand?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) I
thank the member for Dawesville for her question and I acknowledge the member's
intimate knowledge of this particular topic, having had a long career as a professional
paramedic in our ambulance service. The community knows that ambulance ramping,
or emergency access as it is also known, is a challenge that is felt around the
country and in fact by governments around the world. If there were any quick
fixes to a busy, busy health system, they would be in place and people would
have them. We know that there is no silver bullet for demand on our health
system. It takes grit, determination, a plan and investment, and implementing
that important investment. We know that the Liberal Party has foreshadowed a plan
to ''fix'' ramping. I look forward to its detailed and costed
policy response on how it intends to fix what will be the most challenging
period of any in our system, which is the next 10 years.
Members know that our community is
growing and getting older and sicker as it grows. That will place pressure on our system as we move into the next 10
years, as it will all around the country. I know that part of its plan
will involve simply building more beds. Our record on beds is strong. We have
delivered nearly 800 beds in this term of government alone, the equivalent of
Fiona Stanley Hospital. Our plan is to build the equivalent of another tertiary
hospital, with 600 beds across the hospital system already committed to in the budget. We have increased our bed base
significantly. We have increased our staffing by 30 per cent . That is
more doctors and more nurses supporting our community in those beds that are on
our system. We plan to introduce nurse-to-patient ratios. We plan to support
greater immigration of highly trained specialists to help those areas that are
particularly challenged, like ear nose and throat, like paediatrics and like
psychiatry.
We are doing things differently.
We are looking at things differently. We are looking at what is working around
the world and taking the best of that. We have invested $800 million in many of
our initiatives to do things differently and provide an alternative to
emergency departments. That includes the WA virtual emergency department,
which, as we speak, is diverting people, particularly from aged care, from
emergency departments, either getting them straight into the hospital or
supporting them in place. We have more weekend discharges, making sure people
are moving through to make those beds available. We have put hundreds of
millions of dollars supporting older adults and aged-care patients into
temporary care placements and permanent residential aged care. I know that the
opposition will be very light on detail and
there will probably be little scrutiny of the opposition on its health
policies. Our record is strong . Our record is more beds and more staff.
We will build more beds, and we will continue to staff those beds and support
our community where they need it into the future.
thank the member for Dawesville for her question and I acknowledge the member's
intimate knowledge of this particular topic, having had a long career as a professional
paramedic in our ambulance service. The community knows that ambulance ramping,
or emergency access as it is also known, is a challenge that is felt around the
country and in fact by governments around the world. If there were any quick
fixes to a busy, busy health system, they would be in place and people would
have them. We know that there is no silver bullet for demand on our health
system. It takes grit, determination, a plan and investment, and implementing
that important investment. We know that the Liberal Party has foreshadowed a plan
to ''fix'' ramping. I look forward to its detailed and costed
policy response on how it intends to fix what will be the most challenging
period of any in our system, which is the next 10 years.
Members know that our community is
growing and getting older and sicker as it grows. That will place pressure on our system as we move into the next 10
years, as it will all around the country. I know that part of its plan
will involve simply building more beds. Our record on beds is strong. We have
delivered nearly 800 beds in this term of government alone, the equivalent of
Fiona Stanley Hospital. Our plan is to build the equivalent of another tertiary
hospital, with 600 beds across the hospital system already committed to in the budget. We have increased our bed base
significantly. We have increased our staffing by 30 per cent . That is
more doctors and more nurses supporting our community in those beds that are on
our system. We plan to introduce nurse-to-patient ratios. We plan to support
greater immigration of highly trained specialists to help those areas that are
particularly challenged, like ear nose and throat, like paediatrics and like
psychiatry.
We are doing things differently.
We are looking at things differently. We are looking at what is working around
the world and taking the best of that. We have invested $800 million in many of
our initiatives to do things differently and provide an alternative to
emergency departments. That includes the WA virtual emergency department,
which, as we speak, is diverting people, particularly from aged care, from
emergency departments, either getting them straight into the hospital or
supporting them in place. We have more weekend discharges, making sure people
are moving through to make those beds available. We have put hundreds of
millions of dollars supporting older adults and aged-care patients into
temporary care placements and permanent residential aged care. I know that the
opposition will be very light on detail and
there will probably be little scrutiny of the opposition on its health
policies. Our record is strong . Our record is more beds and more staff.
We will build more beds, and we will continue to staff those beds and support
our community where they need it into the future.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.