❓ Mr. Kirkup questions the Minister for Health regarding a code yellow declaration at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and alleged misleading statements about its scope. The Minister refutes the claim and highlights government investment in ED upgrades and alternative care pathways.
AnsweredQoN 692Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
SIR CHARLES GAIRDNER
HOSPITAL — CODE YELLOW DECLARATION
692. Mr Z.R.F. KIRKUP to the Minister for Health:
Last week I was present at Sir
Charles Gairdner Hospital when a hospital-wide code yellow was declared and the
emergency department was an exit block due to no available beds in the wards.
Was the minister intentionally misleading the people of Western Australia on
Sunday's ABC news by stating that code yellows were affecting only the
ED, when clearly that was not true and the real issue was the lack of beds in
the wards?
The SPEAKER : Member, you
cannot say ''intentionally misleading''. Would you like to
rephrase the question?
Mr Z.R.F. KIRKUP : I will
absolutely rephrase the question.
Was the minister misleading the
people of Western Australia on Sunday's ABC news by stating that code
yellows were affecting only the ED, when clearly that was not true and the real
issue was the lack of beds in the wards?
HOSPITAL — CODE YELLOW DECLARATION
692. Mr Z.R.F. KIRKUP to the Minister for Health:
Last week I was present at Sir
Charles Gairdner Hospital when a hospital-wide code yellow was declared and the
emergency department was an exit block due to no available beds in the wards.
Was the minister intentionally misleading the people of Western Australia on
Sunday's ABC news by stating that code yellows were affecting only the
ED, when clearly that was not true and the real issue was the lack of beds in
the wards?
The SPEAKER : Member, you
cannot say ''intentionally misleading''. Would you like to
rephrase the question?
Mr Z.R.F. KIRKUP : I will
absolutely rephrase the question.
Was the minister misleading the
people of Western Australia on Sunday's ABC news by stating that code
yellows were affecting only the ED, when clearly that was not true and the real
issue was the lack of beds in the wards?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for the
question. On what date was the member for Dawesville there?
Mr Z.R.F. Kirkup : On the
Tuesday.
Mr R.H. COOK : What was the
date?
Mr Z.R.F. Kirkup : Last week.
Mr R.H. COOK : The
information I have states very clearly that a whole-of-hospital code yellow has
been activated only twice in the past 12 months, once on 13 August 2018 and
once on 19 August 2019, which was a Monday. The member's information and
my information do not coincide. Members might be interested to know that there
is only one hospital that has a code yellow for its emergency department, and
that is Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital. I am not quite sure why it has that
particular difference.
Obviously, it is important to make
sure that our EDs have capacity to deal with the demands on them. In that case,
we would need a government that is prepared to invest in EDs and look at
innovative ways that take pressure off our EDs. Exhibit 1 is the McGowan Labor
government. With our partners, the commonwealth government, we are currently
investing over $4 million to upgrade the emergency department at Sir Charles
Gairdner Hospital and put in an urgent care clinic toxicology unit. Members
would be aware that this is the unit that we have initiated at Royal Perth
Hospital, which has been an outstanding success in providing a better way that
patients can be treated in that ED environment. We are looking at an urgent
care clinic with between eight and 12 beds. Although that sounds like a modest
increase in the number of beds, it will significantly improve the way the whole
ED operates, because we will be taking a particularly sticky cohort of patients—that
is, patients who often stay in ED a long time—and setting them aside in
a separate area. There will be great efficiencies that come with that.
I have recently been to the ED at
Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and taken the opportunity to look at the layout
there. There are some things we can do to expand the floor space at the ED to
make for a more efficient flow of patients. In addition to that, as the Premier
and I foreshadowed last week, we will soon be launching our urgent care clinic
network throughout the metropolitan and regional areas, which is about making
sure that patients have alternative pathways to receive their emergency care.
It is a great initiative in partnership with the general practitioner sector
and the hospital sector. I am looking forward to providing more details of
that, but there is always more that we can do. We have a plan around that and
we are implementing that plan. We will go about continuing to invest in our
hospitals and making sure that they have the resources they need to continue to
provide outstanding world-class health care.
question. On what date was the member for Dawesville there?
Mr Z.R.F. Kirkup : On the
Tuesday.
Mr R.H. COOK : What was the
date?
Mr Z.R.F. Kirkup : Last week.
Mr R.H. COOK : The
information I have states very clearly that a whole-of-hospital code yellow has
been activated only twice in the past 12 months, once on 13 August 2018 and
once on 19 August 2019, which was a Monday. The member's information and
my information do not coincide. Members might be interested to know that there
is only one hospital that has a code yellow for its emergency department, and
that is Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital. I am not quite sure why it has that
particular difference.
Obviously, it is important to make
sure that our EDs have capacity to deal with the demands on them. In that case,
we would need a government that is prepared to invest in EDs and look at
innovative ways that take pressure off our EDs. Exhibit 1 is the McGowan Labor
government. With our partners, the commonwealth government, we are currently
investing over $4 million to upgrade the emergency department at Sir Charles
Gairdner Hospital and put in an urgent care clinic toxicology unit. Members
would be aware that this is the unit that we have initiated at Royal Perth
Hospital, which has been an outstanding success in providing a better way that
patients can be treated in that ED environment. We are looking at an urgent
care clinic with between eight and 12 beds. Although that sounds like a modest
increase in the number of beds, it will significantly improve the way the whole
ED operates, because we will be taking a particularly sticky cohort of patients—that
is, patients who often stay in ED a long time—and setting them aside in
a separate area. There will be great efficiencies that come with that.
I have recently been to the ED at
Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and taken the opportunity to look at the layout
there. There are some things we can do to expand the floor space at the ED to
make for a more efficient flow of patients. In addition to that, as the Premier
and I foreshadowed last week, we will soon be launching our urgent care clinic
network throughout the metropolitan and regional areas, which is about making
sure that patients have alternative pathways to receive their emergency care.
It is a great initiative in partnership with the general practitioner sector
and the hospital sector. I am looking forward to providing more details of
that, but there is always more that we can do. We have a plan around that and
we are implementing that plan. We will go about continuing to invest in our
hospitals and making sure that they have the resources they need to continue to
provide outstanding world-class health care.
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