❓ A WA parliamentary question on notice addresses the Minister for Health regarding capital equipment planning, funding, and replacement timelines, particularly concerning outdated medical equipment and the Monash Report's recommendations. The Minister's response provides details on funding allocations, the Monash Report's impact, and the Department's approach to managing and replacing equipment.
AnsweredQoN 1496Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
(1) Can the Minister table the full results of the January 2004 survey referred to at Page 1 of the Department of Health, WA,
Capital Equipment Planning Process – Interim and Long - Term, Major Equipment Inventory Status Report
, as at January 2006 that was undertaken to provide a comprehensive understanding of investment requirements for maintaining and supplementing capital equipment stocks?
(2) How much of that money was spent in the 2004-2005 financial year, and what happened to the remainder?
(3) When did the Department of Health first receive the Monash Report? When were you, as Minister, first advised of the Monash Report?
(4) Why has the out-of-date equipment backlog increased to 308 major items representing over 20% of major items?
(5) Can the Minister list the 308 specific pieces of equipment that are out-of-date and advise when they will be replaced?
(6) Will the Minister ensure that in future all equipment is replaced by its used-by date, rather than as the consultancy report proposes, reduce the out-of-date equipment down to 10% over 5 years? Please detail the process that will ensure this is the case.
Capital Equipment Planning Process – Interim and Long - Term, Major Equipment Inventory Status Report
, as at January 2006 that was undertaken to provide a comprehensive understanding of investment requirements for maintaining and supplementing capital equipment stocks?
(2) How much of that money was spent in the 2004-2005 financial year, and what happened to the remainder?
(3) When did the Department of Health first receive the Monash Report? When were you, as Minister, first advised of the Monash Report?
(4) Why has the out-of-date equipment backlog increased to 308 major items representing over 20% of major items?
(5) Can the Minister list the 308 specific pieces of equipment that are out-of-date and advise when they will be replaced?
(6) Will the Minister ensure that in future all equipment is replaced by its used-by date, rather than as the consultancy report proposes, reduce the out-of-date equipment down to 10% over 5 years? Please detail the process that will ensure this is the case.
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
17 October 2006
Responded by
Minister for Health
Response time
27 days
(2) In the 2004/05 financial year, an initial allocation $25 million was made available for medical equipment replacement. Toward the end of 2004, the Government made an additional provision of $40.75 million to the program to assist with reducing the backlog. In 2004/05, a total of $26.2 million was expensed with the remainder carried over into 2005/06. A further $24.4 million was spent in 2005/06 with again the remainder carried over to 2006/07. (3) The Department of Health received the Monash Report on 29 July 2004. I was made aware of the report and its recommendations soon afterwards, and hence the additional allocation of funding support for the replacement program in the latter part of 2004. (4) Since the date of the Monash Report, the number of items that have fallen due for replacement has increased from 18.5 percent to approximately 20 percent in number and by value. This backlog is represented by those items that have theoretically served their useful life. The growth in number of items, is a function of: the pattern of maturity dates and the expected useful life assigned to them; the lead-time necessary to procure and deploy replacement equipment, and in many cases, the fact that the equipment remains fit for purpose notwithstanding its age. (5) The replacement program relates to not only the life of the equipment, but also to its maintenance and functionality. The Department of Health manages out-of-date equipment to ensure the so-called "backlog" remains in good working order. (6) Over the last few months, the Department of Health, with the assistance of Monash University Centre of Biomedical Engineering, has been updating its inventory of medical equipment and developing for my consideration, a comprehensive program to deal with this matter for future years. A responsible program will not be simply driven by dates, but rather an integrated program of procurement, effective maintenance, periodic review and timely replacement to ensure clinical effectiveness.
(3) The Department of Health received the Monash Report on 29 July 2004. I was made aware of the report and its recommendations soon afterwards, and hence the additional allocation of funding support for the replacement program in the latter part of 2004. (4) Since the date of the Monash Report, the number of items that have fallen due for replacement has increased from 18.5 percent to approximately 20 percent in number and by value. This backlog is represented by those items that have theoretically served their useful life. The growth in number of items, is a function of: the pattern of maturity dates and the expected useful life assigned to them; the lead-time necessary to procure and deploy replacement equipment, and in many cases, the fact that the equipment remains fit for purpose notwithstanding its age. (5) The replacement program relates to not only the life of the equipment, but also to its maintenance and functionality. The Department of Health manages out-of-date equipment to ensure the so-called "backlog" remains in good working order. (6) Over the last few months, the Department of Health, with the assistance of Monash University Centre of Biomedical Engineering, has been updating its inventory of medical equipment and developing for my consideration, a comprehensive program to deal with this matter for future years. A responsible program will not be simply driven by dates, but rather an integrated program of procurement, effective maintenance, periodic review and timely replacement to ensure clinical effectiveness.
(4) Since the date of the Monash Report, the number of items that have fallen due for replacement has increased from 18.5 percent to approximately 20 percent in number and by value. This backlog is represented by those items that have theoretically served their useful life. The growth in number of items, is a function of: the pattern of maturity dates and the expected useful life assigned to them; the lead-time necessary to procure and deploy replacement equipment, and in many cases, the fact that the equipment remains fit for purpose notwithstanding its age. (5) The replacement program relates to not only the life of the equipment, but also to its maintenance and functionality. The Department of Health manages out-of-date equipment to ensure the so-called "backlog" remains in good working order. (6) Over the last few months, the Department of Health, with the assistance of Monash University Centre of Biomedical Engineering, has been updating its inventory of medical equipment and developing for my consideration, a comprehensive program to deal with this matter for future years. A responsible program will not be simply driven by dates, but rather an integrated program of procurement, effective maintenance, periodic review and timely replacement to ensure clinical effectiveness.
(5) The replacement program relates to not only the life of the equipment, but also to its maintenance and functionality. The Department of Health manages out-of-date equipment to ensure the so-called "backlog" remains in good working order. (6) Over the last few months, the Department of Health, with the assistance of Monash University Centre of Biomedical Engineering, has been updating its inventory of medical equipment and developing for my consideration, a comprehensive program to deal with this matter for future years. A responsible program will not be simply driven by dates, but rather an integrated program of procurement, effective maintenance, periodic review and timely replacement to ensure clinical effectiveness.
(6) Over the last few months, the Department of Health, with the assistance of Monash University Centre of Biomedical Engineering, has been updating its inventory of medical equipment and developing for my consideration, a comprehensive program to deal with this matter for future years. A responsible program will not be simply driven by dates, but rather an integrated program of procurement, effective maintenance, periodic review and timely replacement to ensure clinical effectiveness.
(3) The Department of Health received the Monash Report on 29 July 2004. I was made aware of the report and its recommendations soon afterwards, and hence the additional allocation of funding support for the replacement program in the latter part of 2004. (4) Since the date of the Monash Report, the number of items that have fallen due for replacement has increased from 18.5 percent to approximately 20 percent in number and by value. This backlog is represented by those items that have theoretically served their useful life. The growth in number of items, is a function of: the pattern of maturity dates and the expected useful life assigned to them; the lead-time necessary to procure and deploy replacement equipment, and in many cases, the fact that the equipment remains fit for purpose notwithstanding its age. (5) The replacement program relates to not only the life of the equipment, but also to its maintenance and functionality. The Department of Health manages out-of-date equipment to ensure the so-called "backlog" remains in good working order. (6) Over the last few months, the Department of Health, with the assistance of Monash University Centre of Biomedical Engineering, has been updating its inventory of medical equipment and developing for my consideration, a comprehensive program to deal with this matter for future years. A responsible program will not be simply driven by dates, but rather an integrated program of procurement, effective maintenance, periodic review and timely replacement to ensure clinical effectiveness.
(4) Since the date of the Monash Report, the number of items that have fallen due for replacement has increased from 18.5 percent to approximately 20 percent in number and by value. This backlog is represented by those items that have theoretically served their useful life. The growth in number of items, is a function of: the pattern of maturity dates and the expected useful life assigned to them; the lead-time necessary to procure and deploy replacement equipment, and in many cases, the fact that the equipment remains fit for purpose notwithstanding its age. (5) The replacement program relates to not only the life of the equipment, but also to its maintenance and functionality. The Department of Health manages out-of-date equipment to ensure the so-called "backlog" remains in good working order. (6) Over the last few months, the Department of Health, with the assistance of Monash University Centre of Biomedical Engineering, has been updating its inventory of medical equipment and developing for my consideration, a comprehensive program to deal with this matter for future years. A responsible program will not be simply driven by dates, but rather an integrated program of procurement, effective maintenance, periodic review and timely replacement to ensure clinical effectiveness.
(5) The replacement program relates to not only the life of the equipment, but also to its maintenance and functionality. The Department of Health manages out-of-date equipment to ensure the so-called "backlog" remains in good working order. (6) Over the last few months, the Department of Health, with the assistance of Monash University Centre of Biomedical Engineering, has been updating its inventory of medical equipment and developing for my consideration, a comprehensive program to deal with this matter for future years. A responsible program will not be simply driven by dates, but rather an integrated program of procurement, effective maintenance, periodic review and timely replacement to ensure clinical effectiveness.
(6) Over the last few months, the Department of Health, with the assistance of Monash University Centre of Biomedical Engineering, has been updating its inventory of medical equipment and developing for my consideration, a comprehensive program to deal with this matter for future years. A responsible program will not be simply driven by dates, but rather an integrated program of procurement, effective maintenance, periodic review and timely replacement to ensure clinical effectiveness.
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.