❓ The Minister for Health provides an update on the planning for the new women's and babies' hospital, highlighting community engagement opportunities through focus groups and other mechanisms to ensure patient-centred care. The Minister emphasizes the government's commitment to improving maternity services and expanding birth choices for women in WA.
AnsweredQoN 624Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
WOMEN'S AND
BABIES' HOSPITAL
624. Mrs R.M.J. CLARKE to the Minister for Health:
I refer to the McGowan Labor
government's record investment into Western Australia's health
system, including the delivery of new and upgraded hospital infrastructure.
(1) Can the
minister update the house on the work underway in planning for the new women's
and babies' hospital?
(2) Can the
minister outline to the house how the community can provide feedback into the
process to ensure that the hospital truly delivers patient-centred care?
BABIES' HOSPITAL
624. Mrs R.M.J. CLARKE to the Minister for Health:
I refer to the McGowan Labor
government's record investment into Western Australia's health
system, including the delivery of new and upgraded hospital infrastructure.
(1) Can the
minister update the house on the work underway in planning for the new women's
and babies' hospital?
(2) Can the
minister outline to the house how the community can provide feedback into the
process to ensure that the hospital truly delivers patient-centred care?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for her question.
I know that she is also passionate about delivering patient-centred care,
particularly in the area of women's health.
(1)–(2) The new women's and babies'
hospital presents us with a fantastic opportunity. It is already the result of the
good financial management of this government that we are able to put aside $1.8
billion towards this project to replace the ageing but much loved King Edward
Memorial Hospital for women and newborns in this state. It presents us with a unique
opportunity to rethink how we deliver maternity care in Western Australia. It is much more than just a hospital. It is also
an opportunity to rethink that and it is a very symbolic and important
opportunity for women and the people who work in women's health care
and maternity care to really engage in this process.
Western Australia has some of the
highest rates of intervention in childbirth in the country. In fact, even by
international standards those intervention rates are high. Rates of postnatal
depression are rising and some studies report that as many as one in three
women report significant trauma from a number of those birth interventions. We want women to have the birth that they want, and
we want them to be able to deliver safely.
We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to engage with the women who have
used the maternity services and who will use our new women's
hospital and ask them what they want to see change or stay the same. We know
that childbirth is a unique experience for women. Generally, women do not get
to do it many times in their life and we want that experience to be as good as
it possibly can be for all women in Western Australia, so we need to hear from
women in WA.
Yesterday, I launched the expressions
of interest process for community members so that they can be involved in
consumer focus groups that will inform the various elements of the women's
and newborns' hospital. When it comes to this hospital, women are the
most important part of this process and will be the patients who use it. Since
yesterday, we have already received more than 350 expressions of interest. That
is fantastic. People who want to apply can do so via the new women's
and babies' hospital website. The
application takes 10 minutes and EOIs will close on 11 November. Participants
will be short-listed and contacted
after that date. The focus groups will take place in November and December this
year. This will not be the only way that people can have their say on
the women's project. People will be able to engage through a range of mechanisms, forums and
processes. We want to hear how the design and fit-out elements can improve patient and family experiences and how
we can make the new hospital appropriately accessible to everyone. We
want to know about disability access, the naming of wards, what the public and
religious spaces in the hospital will look like, what the landscaping will look
like and what sort of sustainability initiatives we need to see in this hospital.
It
is a priority for me to ensure patient-centred care at the heart of this new
women's and newborns' hospital and the McGowan
government is very committed to maternity services in WA. I am a strong
advocate for birth choices and for expanding
birth choices for Western Australian women and I am very excited, as Minister for Health, to be part of this stage of this project.
I know that she is also passionate about delivering patient-centred care,
particularly in the area of women's health.
(1)–(2) The new women's and babies'
hospital presents us with a fantastic opportunity. It is already the result of the
good financial management of this government that we are able to put aside $1.8
billion towards this project to replace the ageing but much loved King Edward
Memorial Hospital for women and newborns in this state. It presents us with a unique
opportunity to rethink how we deliver maternity care in Western Australia. It is much more than just a hospital. It is also
an opportunity to rethink that and it is a very symbolic and important
opportunity for women and the people who work in women's health care
and maternity care to really engage in this process.
Western Australia has some of the
highest rates of intervention in childbirth in the country. In fact, even by
international standards those intervention rates are high. Rates of postnatal
depression are rising and some studies report that as many as one in three
women report significant trauma from a number of those birth interventions. We want women to have the birth that they want, and
we want them to be able to deliver safely.
We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to engage with the women who have
used the maternity services and who will use our new women's
hospital and ask them what they want to see change or stay the same. We know
that childbirth is a unique experience for women. Generally, women do not get
to do it many times in their life and we want that experience to be as good as
it possibly can be for all women in Western Australia, so we need to hear from
women in WA.
Yesterday, I launched the expressions
of interest process for community members so that they can be involved in
consumer focus groups that will inform the various elements of the women's
and newborns' hospital. When it comes to this hospital, women are the
most important part of this process and will be the patients who use it. Since
yesterday, we have already received more than 350 expressions of interest. That
is fantastic. People who want to apply can do so via the new women's
and babies' hospital website. The
application takes 10 minutes and EOIs will close on 11 November. Participants
will be short-listed and contacted
after that date. The focus groups will take place in November and December this
year. This will not be the only way that people can have their say on
the women's project. People will be able to engage through a range of mechanisms, forums and
processes. We want to hear how the design and fit-out elements can improve patient and family experiences and how
we can make the new hospital appropriately accessible to everyone. We
want to know about disability access, the naming of wards, what the public and
religious spaces in the hospital will look like, what the landscaping will look
like and what sort of sustainability initiatives we need to see in this hospital.
It
is a priority for me to ensure patient-centred care at the heart of this new
women's and newborns' hospital and the McGowan
government is very committed to maternity services in WA. I am a strong
advocate for birth choices and for expanding
birth choices for Western Australian women and I am very excited, as Minister for Health, to be part of this stage of this project.
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