❓ Mr. Rundle questions the Minister for Health regarding the adequacy of COVID-19 testing in smaller regional centres like Dongara, Carnarvon, and Katanning. The Minister assures that regional areas will be catered for, despite logistical challenges.
AnsweredQoN 165Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
CORONAVIRUS —
TESTING — REGIONAL AREAS
165. Mr P.J. RUNDLE to the Minister for Health:
I have a supplementary question.
I refer to the Minister for Health's
previous announcements about 27 PathWest centres and the like. Is the minister
comfortable that our constituents in our smaller regional centres—the
likes of, say, Dongara, Carnarvon and Katanning—will be well catered
for in the weeks ahead?
TESTING — REGIONAL AREAS
165. Mr P.J. RUNDLE to the Minister for Health:
I have a supplementary question.
I refer to the Minister for Health's
previous announcements about 27 PathWest centres and the like. Is the minister
comfortable that our constituents in our smaller regional centres—the
likes of, say, Dongara, Carnarvon and Katanning—will be well catered
for in the weeks ahead?
AnswerView source ↗
I talked earlier about swabs. One of
the things unique to Western Australia is a highly dispersed health system, so
we have to have more swabs per populations, for want of a better description,
than is the case in other places. The member mentioned a constituent who could
present to the Dongara clinic, for instance. They would have swabs taken and
those swabs would be transferred to a PathWest centre where they would be
tested. in regional areas, there may be a delay as those swabs are transported,
but currently we are returning all swabs once they are taken, and they all
receive an advice between 48 and 72 hours. We are keeping on top of that
commitment to performance.
Western Australian patients in a rural
and regional setting face different challenges, I guess, from patients in the
metropolitan area, but we will put in the resources necessary to make sure that
they are protected. That will include when we move to the next stage of the
COVID-19 epidemic, which is when we will be testing a wider range of people.
Currently, we are testing only those who have travelled in the last 14 days or
come into contact with a known COVID-positive case, but that is consistent with
the national guidelines. Members would anticipate that those national
guidelines will change in the coming days and weeks, and we have to be ready to
respond to that.
the things unique to Western Australia is a highly dispersed health system, so
we have to have more swabs per populations, for want of a better description,
than is the case in other places. The member mentioned a constituent who could
present to the Dongara clinic, for instance. They would have swabs taken and
those swabs would be transferred to a PathWest centre where they would be
tested. in regional areas, there may be a delay as those swabs are transported,
but currently we are returning all swabs once they are taken, and they all
receive an advice between 48 and 72 hours. We are keeping on top of that
commitment to performance.
Western Australian patients in a rural
and regional setting face different challenges, I guess, from patients in the
metropolitan area, but we will put in the resources necessary to make sure that
they are protected. That will include when we move to the next stage of the
COVID-19 epidemic, which is when we will be testing a wider range of people.
Currently, we are testing only those who have travelled in the last 14 days or
come into contact with a known COVID-positive case, but that is consistent with
the national guidelines. Members would anticipate that those national
guidelines will change in the coming days and weeks, and we have to be ready to
respond to that.
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