❓ Opposition MP Mettam questions the Health Minister on the fulfilment of a 2017 election promise regarding medi-hotels and their impact on hospital bed block. The Minister defends the government's record, highlighting existing medi-hotels and ongoing investment in the health system.
AnsweredQoN 312Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
MEDI-HOTELS
312. Ms L. METTAM to the Minister for Health:
I refer to the 2017 election
commitment to introduce medi-hotels in Western Australia, which promised to
free up 54 tertiary beds every day and allow 5 262 more patients to be treated in
our hospitals each year. Does the minister concede that had the government kept
this promise, bed block in our hospitals would be considerably lower and
ambulances would not have spent thousands of hours parked up outside hospitals
each day?
312. Ms L. METTAM to the Minister for Health:
I refer to the 2017 election
commitment to introduce medi-hotels in Western Australia, which promised to
free up 54 tertiary beds every day and allow 5 262 more patients to be treated in
our hospitals each year. Does the minister concede that had the government kept
this promise, bed block in our hospitals would be considerably lower and
ambulances would not have spent thousands of hours parked up outside hospitals
each day?
AnswerView source ↗
Deputy Speaker, there are two —
The SPEAKER : Speaker!
Ms A. SANDERSON : Madam
Speaker, not deputy; apologies!
There
are two medi-hotels operating, and they are operating as we intended them to
do. They are taking lower acuity patients who need intravenous
antibiotics, for example, but are not in a position to do that at home. So, we
have delivered on that election commitment.
The member may have seen from the freeway the incredible medi-hotel that is being built in Murdoch. The state government, working with Aegis Health,
will provide an incredible healthcare centre that will provide a multitude of
services, including supporting Fiona Stanley Hospital with its lower acuity
patients and freeing up beds there.
I totally disagree with the member
and the underlying premise of the question that somehow we have not delivered
on these commitments when we absolutely have. There is one operating at Royal
Perth, one is operating at Bentley and one
is being built at Murdoch, so we are delivering these medi-hotels, along with
record investment in our health system. The health budget under this
government has increased every single year. Since we were elected in 2017, the
health budget has increased by more than 30 per cent. That is testament to the
incredible work and discipline of this
government and the former Minister for Health. On top of that, we have been
managing a pandemic for two years and
preparing the system for a pandemic. That is the context in which we are
delivering on our commitments . We are delivering record funding and we
are having the best health and economic outcomes in the world in the most
difficult time.
The SPEAKER : Speaker!
Ms A. SANDERSON : Madam
Speaker, not deputy; apologies!
There
are two medi-hotels operating, and they are operating as we intended them to
do. They are taking lower acuity patients who need intravenous
antibiotics, for example, but are not in a position to do that at home. So, we
have delivered on that election commitment.
The member may have seen from the freeway the incredible medi-hotel that is being built in Murdoch. The state government, working with Aegis Health,
will provide an incredible healthcare centre that will provide a multitude of
services, including supporting Fiona Stanley Hospital with its lower acuity
patients and freeing up beds there.
I totally disagree with the member
and the underlying premise of the question that somehow we have not delivered
on these commitments when we absolutely have. There is one operating at Royal
Perth, one is operating at Bentley and one
is being built at Murdoch, so we are delivering these medi-hotels, along with
record investment in our health system. The health budget under this
government has increased every single year. Since we were elected in 2017, the
health budget has increased by more than 30 per cent. That is testament to the
incredible work and discipline of this
government and the former Minister for Health. On top of that, we have been
managing a pandemic for two years and
preparing the system for a pandemic. That is the context in which we are
delivering on our commitments . We are delivering record funding and we
are having the best health and economic outcomes in the world in the most
difficult time.
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.