❓ Mr. Cook questions the method of measuring the impact of budget cuts on frontline health services. Dr. Hames responds that direct measurement is not possible and instead relied on feedback from nurses, investigating reported issues and addressing them.
AnsweredQoN 662Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
SOUTH METROPOLITAN AREA HEALTH SERVICE — BUDGET CUTS
I have a supplementary question. I notice the minister failed to answer part 5 of my question: what is the method of measuring front-line services and what is the minister’s evidence that they are not being affected by the cuts? Dr K.D. HAMES
I have a supplementary question. I notice the minister failed to answer part 5 of my question: what is the method of measuring front-line services and what is the minister’s evidence that they are not being affected by the cuts? Dr K.D. HAMES
AnswerView source ↗
We had a lot of rhetoric coming from the opposition about this fact that front-line services were being affected as part of the three per cent cuts — Mr R.H. Cook : So, you went out and measured it? Dr K.D. HAMES : We had some people making claims, and it is not possible to measure, so as an alternative I wrote to every nurse in the state and asked them to come to me if they believed that front-line services were being affected. We did get some letters; I think 10 to 15 in all. From the whole of the state, there were 10 to 15 letters from nurses, and I had every one of those investigated. If changes were being made down the line that affected front-line services, I told them to fix them so that they did not.
Dr K.D. HAMES replied: We had a lot of rhetoric coming from the opposition about this fact that front-line services were being affected as part of the three per cent cuts — Mr R.H. Cook : So, you went out and measured it? Dr K.D. HAMES : We had some people making claims, and it is not possible to measure, so as an alternative I wrote to every nurse in the state and asked them to come to me if they believed that front-line services were being affected. We did get some letters; I think 10 to 15 in all. From the whole of the state, there were 10 to 15 letters from nurses, and I had every one of those investigated. If changes were being made down the line that affected front-line services, I told them to fix them so that they did not.
We had a lot of rhetoric coming from the opposition about this fact that front-line services were being affected as part of the three per cent cuts — Mr R.H. Cook : So, you went out and measured it? Dr K.D. HAMES : We had some people making claims, and it is not possible to measure, so as an alternative I wrote to every nurse in the state and asked them to come to me if they believed that front-line services were being affected. We did get some letters; I think 10 to 15 in all. From the whole of the state, there were 10 to 15 letters from nurses, and I had every one of those investigated. If changes were being made down the line that affected front-line services, I told them to fix them so that they did not.
Mr R.H. Cook : So, you went out and measured it? Dr K.D. HAMES : We had some people making claims, and it is not possible to measure, so as an alternative I wrote to every nurse in the state and asked them to come to me if they believed that front-line services were being affected. We did get some letters; I think 10 to 15 in all. From the whole of the state, there were 10 to 15 letters from nurses, and I had every one of those investigated. If changes were being made down the line that affected front-line services, I told them to fix them so that they did not.
Dr K.D. HAMES : We had some people making claims, and it is not possible to measure, so as an alternative I wrote to every nurse in the state and asked them to come to me if they believed that front-line services were being affected. We did get some letters; I think 10 to 15 in all. From the whole of the state, there were 10 to 15 letters from nurses, and I had every one of those investigated. If changes were being made down the line that affected front-line services, I told them to fix them so that they did not.
Dr K.D. HAMES replied: We had a lot of rhetoric coming from the opposition about this fact that front-line services were being affected as part of the three per cent cuts — Mr R.H. Cook : So, you went out and measured it? Dr K.D. HAMES : We had some people making claims, and it is not possible to measure, so as an alternative I wrote to every nurse in the state and asked them to come to me if they believed that front-line services were being affected. We did get some letters; I think 10 to 15 in all. From the whole of the state, there were 10 to 15 letters from nurses, and I had every one of those investigated. If changes were being made down the line that affected front-line services, I told them to fix them so that they did not.
We had a lot of rhetoric coming from the opposition about this fact that front-line services were being affected as part of the three per cent cuts — Mr R.H. Cook : So, you went out and measured it? Dr K.D. HAMES : We had some people making claims, and it is not possible to measure, so as an alternative I wrote to every nurse in the state and asked them to come to me if they believed that front-line services were being affected. We did get some letters; I think 10 to 15 in all. From the whole of the state, there were 10 to 15 letters from nurses, and I had every one of those investigated. If changes were being made down the line that affected front-line services, I told them to fix them so that they did not.
Mr R.H. Cook : So, you went out and measured it? Dr K.D. HAMES : We had some people making claims, and it is not possible to measure, so as an alternative I wrote to every nurse in the state and asked them to come to me if they believed that front-line services were being affected. We did get some letters; I think 10 to 15 in all. From the whole of the state, there were 10 to 15 letters from nurses, and I had every one of those investigated. If changes were being made down the line that affected front-line services, I told them to fix them so that they did not.
Dr K.D. HAMES : We had some people making claims, and it is not possible to measure, so as an alternative I wrote to every nurse in the state and asked them to come to me if they believed that front-line services were being affected. We did get some letters; I think 10 to 15 in all. From the whole of the state, there were 10 to 15 letters from nurses, and I had every one of those investigated. If changes were being made down the line that affected front-line services, I told them to fix them so that they did not.
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