❓ Mr. Blayney asks the Minister for Health about Broome Hospital's performance under the four-hour rule. The Minister responds positively about the upgraded facilities and funding, while also addressing broader challenges in the metropolitan area.
AnsweredQoN 370Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
BROOME
HOSPITAL EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT — FOUR-HOUR RULE
370. Mr I.C. BLAYNEY to the Minister for Health:
I understand that the minister recently visited Broome
Hospital. Would he please update the house on how it is performing under the
four-hour rule?
HOSPITAL EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT — FOUR-HOUR RULE
370. Mr I.C. BLAYNEY to the Minister for Health:
I understand that the minister recently visited Broome
Hospital. Would he please update the house on how it is performing under the
four-hour rule?
AnswerView source ↗
I did indeed visit Broome Hospital, and a fantastic facility
it is. After having had an old facility there for a long time, the hospital is
now one of the best facilities we have in regional Western Australia. The
quality and standard of service is very high, particularly at the new mental
health unit that was recently opened by the Minister for Mental Health. It is a
fantastic facility. The emergency department was previously very old, tired and
run-down; it was too small, there was very poor ambulance access and something
really needed to be done about it. The staff there were extremely excited when
we arrived and extremely proud of what they had done. Funding was provided
under the four-hour rule program, which was a combination of commonwealth and
state funding, to upgrade the standard of the four-hour rule service; so, some
of those funds were used to fix that final problem of access to the emergency
department at Broome Hospital. It really is magnificent; a whole new section
has been built that triples the size of the current emergency department, and
the new area is twice the size of the old one. It has an absolutely modern,
up-to-date layout, and the relationship between ambulances coming in and
patients coming out is excellent.
As we know, the four-hour rule has delivered a lot of
benefits to both metropolitan and rural areas. In the metropolitan area the
access block under the four-hour rule has gone down from what it was under the
former Labor government—which averaged an access block of between 40
and 50 per cent and even 60 per cent at Fremantle Hospital of people waiting
longer than eight hours for a bed—to eight hours under our government.
I have to say that in recent weeks the figure has travelled. There has been
huge pressure on our hospitals; there are not enough beds in the system. The
figures, therefore, for both the four-hour rule and access block in the metro area
have got worse. However, access block for eight hours has got worse by only 12
to 15 per cent. That still compares well with the figure of 40 to 50 per cent
under the previous government. It has therefore been a great program. It is
delivering improved services not only in the metropolitan area, but also in
locations such as Broome, which has received funding for modern facilities and
a modern hospital structure that will give Broome the opportunity to get a
great result from the four-hour rule program.
it is. After having had an old facility there for a long time, the hospital is
now one of the best facilities we have in regional Western Australia. The
quality and standard of service is very high, particularly at the new mental
health unit that was recently opened by the Minister for Mental Health. It is a
fantastic facility. The emergency department was previously very old, tired and
run-down; it was too small, there was very poor ambulance access and something
really needed to be done about it. The staff there were extremely excited when
we arrived and extremely proud of what they had done. Funding was provided
under the four-hour rule program, which was a combination of commonwealth and
state funding, to upgrade the standard of the four-hour rule service; so, some
of those funds were used to fix that final problem of access to the emergency
department at Broome Hospital. It really is magnificent; a whole new section
has been built that triples the size of the current emergency department, and
the new area is twice the size of the old one. It has an absolutely modern,
up-to-date layout, and the relationship between ambulances coming in and
patients coming out is excellent.
As we know, the four-hour rule has delivered a lot of
benefits to both metropolitan and rural areas. In the metropolitan area the
access block under the four-hour rule has gone down from what it was under the
former Labor government—which averaged an access block of between 40
and 50 per cent and even 60 per cent at Fremantle Hospital of people waiting
longer than eight hours for a bed—to eight hours under our government.
I have to say that in recent weeks the figure has travelled. There has been
huge pressure on our hospitals; there are not enough beds in the system. The
figures, therefore, for both the four-hour rule and access block in the metro area
have got worse. However, access block for eight hours has got worse by only 12
to 15 per cent. That still compares well with the figure of 40 to 50 per cent
under the previous government. It has therefore been a great program. It is
delivering improved services not only in the metropolitan area, but also in
locations such as Broome, which has received funding for modern facilities and
a modern hospital structure that will give Broome the opportunity to get a
great result from the four-hour rule program.
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