❓ Opposition MP Kirkup questions the Premier about the changing explanations for ambulance ramping issues, specifically regarding COVID-19 related factors. The Premier defends the government's actions, citing COVID safety measures and elective surgery backlogs as contributing factors.
AnsweredQoN 819Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
AMBULANCE RAMPING
819. Mr Z.R.F. KIRKUP to the Premier:
I
have a supplementary question. Why is it now that a different streaming
process, mental health admissions, elective surgery and ambulance
ramping is contributing to this problem, when one month ago the Premier said
that it was only ambulance COVID-19 cleaning that was an issue for these record
levels of ambulance ramping in our state?
819. Mr Z.R.F. KIRKUP to the Premier:
I
have a supplementary question. Why is it now that a different streaming
process, mental health admissions, elective surgery and ambulance
ramping is contributing to this problem, when one month ago the Premier said
that it was only ambulance COVID-19 cleaning that was an issue for these record
levels of ambulance ramping in our state?
AnswerView source ↗
Clearly,
COVID safety measures are in place across the state. One measure is that we
clean out our ambulances every time they have transported a patient.
When the member thinks about that and compares that with what may have been in place before, it is going to create a delay
in terms of ambulance availability. It just makes logical sense. The other point that I raised, which is the new way of managing people who come
into emergency departments based upon their respiratory condition, will also
create delays, as will the elective surgery catch-up. We basically stopped the
vast majority of elective surgery for months on end; it was unprecedented. It
is not as though all that surgery has suddenly gone away. We actually have to
deal with it. Many people are now dealing with it and we are running at above
100 per cent of our capacity when it comes to dealing with elective surgery.
That fills beds in the hospitals and makes it more difficult for people to
transfer from an emergency department into a hospital bed. That is a consequence
of COVID. It was not something that the government did; it is a consequence of
us dealing with COVID. We are doing our best in difficult circumstances to
manage the situation. Our position has been consistent the whole way along. We
want to keep Western Australians safe and healthy. Everything we have done from
the beginning of the COVID pandemic until now has been directed towards that.
COVID safety measures are in place across the state. One measure is that we
clean out our ambulances every time they have transported a patient.
When the member thinks about that and compares that with what may have been in place before, it is going to create a delay
in terms of ambulance availability. It just makes logical sense. The other point that I raised, which is the new way of managing people who come
into emergency departments based upon their respiratory condition, will also
create delays, as will the elective surgery catch-up. We basically stopped the
vast majority of elective surgery for months on end; it was unprecedented. It
is not as though all that surgery has suddenly gone away. We actually have to
deal with it. Many people are now dealing with it and we are running at above
100 per cent of our capacity when it comes to dealing with elective surgery.
That fills beds in the hospitals and makes it more difficult for people to
transfer from an emergency department into a hospital bed. That is a consequence
of COVID. It was not something that the government did; it is a consequence of
us dealing with COVID. We are doing our best in difficult circumstances to
manage the situation. Our position has been consistent the whole way along. We
want to keep Western Australians safe and healthy. Everything we have done from
the beginning of the COVID pandemic until now has been directed towards that.
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