❓ Ms Collins asks about the government's expansion of primary care services in pharmacies and future commitments to boosting access to care. The Minister responds by highlighting reforms allowing pharmacies to treat UTIs and provide oral contraceptive resupply, as well as future plans for ADHD diagnosis/prescription training for GPs and the GP Ask program.
AnsweredQoN 89Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
Health—Primary care access
89. Ms Caitlin Collins to the Minister for Health:
I refer to the Cook
Labor government's commitment to delivering greater access to health care for Western
Australians.
(1) Can the minister provide an update to the
house on how this government's expansion of primary care services in pharmacies
is supporting local communities?
(2) Can the minister outline to the house any
further commitments to boosting access to care?
89. Ms Caitlin Collins to the Minister for Health:
I refer to the Cook
Labor government's commitment to delivering greater access to health care for Western
Australians.
(1) Can the minister provide an update to the
house on how this government's expansion of primary care services in pharmacies
is supporting local communities?
(2) Can the minister outline to the house any
further commitments to boosting access to care?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for her question and for her
advocacy in this area.
(1)–(2) Our government knows how important
it is to deliver greater access to health care. That is why, over the last few
years, our government has delivered reforms to allow women to get the care they
need, when they need it. This has included changes to allow pharmacies, in
particular, to treat urinary tract infections. Since that program began, the
member will be interested to know that almost 13,000 women have utilised this
service across almost 550 participating pharmacies all around Western
Australia. We have also delivered the oral contraceptive resupply pilot, which
is being delivered from 136 pharmacies around WA.
These reforms mean that instead
of booking to see a GP, people can get access at their local pharmacy. This
will save women time and money. But we know that there is more we need to do in
this area, and that is why at the recent election we made further commitments
to boost access to health care. That includes work to deliver training for GPs
so that they can both diagnose and prescribe medication for ADHD, which will
make it easier and more affordable for patients to get the care they need. We
will deliver the GP Ask program, which will provide GPs with real-time access
to specialists to avoid patients having to go to appointment after appointment
when it is not necessary.
Our government knows that
delivering greater access to care in the community will allow for better
outcomes for patients. It will save them time and money. That is why we are
going to continue to drive these reforms to deliver greater access to care for Western
Australians, when and where they need it most.
The Speaker : The member
for Roe, with the final question.
advocacy in this area.
(1)–(2) Our government knows how important
it is to deliver greater access to health care. That is why, over the last few
years, our government has delivered reforms to allow women to get the care they
need, when they need it. This has included changes to allow pharmacies, in
particular, to treat urinary tract infections. Since that program began, the
member will be interested to know that almost 13,000 women have utilised this
service across almost 550 participating pharmacies all around Western
Australia. We have also delivered the oral contraceptive resupply pilot, which
is being delivered from 136 pharmacies around WA.
These reforms mean that instead
of booking to see a GP, people can get access at their local pharmacy. This
will save women time and money. But we know that there is more we need to do in
this area, and that is why at the recent election we made further commitments
to boost access to health care. That includes work to deliver training for GPs
so that they can both diagnose and prescribe medication for ADHD, which will
make it easier and more affordable for patients to get the care they need. We
will deliver the GP Ask program, which will provide GPs with real-time access
to specialists to avoid patients having to go to appointment after appointment
when it is not necessary.
Our government knows that
delivering greater access to care in the community will allow for better
outcomes for patients. It will save them time and money. That is why we are
going to continue to drive these reforms to deliver greater access to care for Western
Australians, when and where they need it most.
The Speaker : The member
for Roe, with the final question.
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.