❓ Mr Scaife asks about the benefits of relocating women's and babies' services to Fiona Stanley Hospital. The Minister defends the decision, citing safety and access advantages, particularly for regional patients and those needing ICU.
AnsweredQoN 870Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
WOMEN'S AND BABIES' HOSPITAL —
RELOCATION
870. Mr D.A.E. SCAIFE to the Minister for Health:
I refer to the delivery of
world-class health services by clinicians working at Fiona Stanley Hospital.
(1) What does it
mean for women and babies in my community to have maternity, neonatology and
paediatric services available at Fiona Stanley Hospital?
(2) Can the
minister advise the house how this government's appreciation for
clinicians working at Fiona Stanley Hospital compares with those in the
opposition?
RELOCATION
870. Mr D.A.E. SCAIFE to the Minister for Health:
I refer to the delivery of
world-class health services by clinicians working at Fiona Stanley Hospital.
(1) What does it
mean for women and babies in my community to have maternity, neonatology and
paediatric services available at Fiona Stanley Hospital?
(2) Can the
minister advise the house how this government's appreciation for
clinicians working at Fiona Stanley Hospital compares with those in the
opposition?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) I
thank the member for Cockburn for his question. We know that no doubt the
decision to relocate the new women's
and babies' hospital to Murdoch alongside Fiona Stanley Hospital came
as a surprise to the community and the health sector. We accept that.
What we cannot accept, and what I cannot accept as minister, is the undeniable risks proposed with continuing to build on
the Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre site. The business case, the
Infrastructure WA review and advice from the director general all present
irrefutable evidence that to build another tertiary hospital on the QEII site
would pose an acceptable and unmitigatable risk to services, to the delivery of
critical services, and to access for patients and staff to Sir Charles Gairdner
Hospital and Perth Children's Hospital for up to 20 years. The only
responsible decision that the government could make is to build the hospital
alongside Fiona Stanley Hospital. There are
many, many advantages to this approach. Women and babies coming from regional
WA via the Royal Flying Doctor
Service will have very fast access to emergency care and have quicker and safer
access when they land at Jandakot and can go straight into adult tertiary
intensive care unit services at Fiona Stanley Hospital. Importantly,
women who are critically unwell following childbirth will have immediate access to expert ICU access next door at Fiona
Stanley Hospital. That is not currently the case. Women at King Edward
Memorial Hospital for Women currently have no access to expert ICU onsite or
co-located. They are not served well under the current arrangements and they
cannot wait longer. They are transferred from King Edward to Charlies under the
current arrangements.
Fiona Stanley Hospital is also home
to the only paediatric emergency department outside Perth Children's
Hospital in Western Australia. The team at Fiona Stanley Hospital have
experience in dealing with paediatric
emergencies and we have an opportunity to expand these services further. Fiona
Stanley Hospital is already going above and beyond in paediatric care
and is already working as a level 5 paediatric service. That means access to
24/7 on-call medical and surgery paediatric services, access to specialist
paediatric allied health services and support services. They are going through
the accreditation process to now get this formally recognised.
A senior Fiona Stanley Hospital
paediatric clinician wrote to me and stated —
FSH already provides a range of
paediatric services on site including surgery, neurology, feeding team,
gastroenterology, endocrinology, respiratory, child protection, metabolic, and
nephrology. Expansion of some of these
subspecialties will support not only the NICU at the new Women and Babies
Hospital at Murdoch but also the paediatric patients from South metro, avoiding
their travel to PCH. This will be a huge step forward for 'care
closer to home' for the large population in South Metro, East Metro
and country area health services. �
Tabling of Paper
Ms L. METTAM : I request that
the minister table what appears to be an official document.
The SPEAKER : Minister, I can
see highlighting and pen marks from here, but is it an official document?
Ms A. SANDERSON : It is a quote
from a letter that I received in my office embedded in the answer.
The SPEAKER : It is
transcribed there. There is no requirement to table it.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Ms A. SANDERSON : The
expansion of paediatric services at Fiona Stanley Hospital will mean more
trained paediatric staff, from consultants to nurses to allied health. The
neonatology experts at Fiona Stanley Hospital are world class. When the hospital opened nearly 10 years ago, it was
suggested that it would not be safe to have specialist neonatology
services delivered to Fiona Stanley and that we would not be able to recruit
highly trained clinicians. These claims have
proven to be baseless, yet the Leader of the Liberal Party continues to
recklessly claim that women and families will somehow receive a second-class
service at the Murdoch site. The Leader of the Liberal Party has shown complete
disregard for the facts, advice from infrastructure experts and the expertise
of highly regarded clinicians who live and
work outside Nedlands and Subiaco. She says that any decision that she makes
would be based on taking into account the best clinical advice. What
exactly does the member mean by that? Does that mean advice?
Ms L. Mettam interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please.
Mr P. Papalia : It was a rhetorical
question.
Ms A. SANDERSON : Indeed, it
was. Correct. It was a rhetorical question!
Ms L. Mettam interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order! Member for Vasse. If you want to
have the opportunity to ask a supplementary question, please do not continue to
interject.
Ms
A. SANDERSON : Does the Leader of
the Liberal Party mean that she would not take the advice from the director general of Health, who also happens to be a clinician? Does she mean that she
will not take advice from senior experienced
clinicians in neonatology at not just the Child and Adolescent Health Service,
but also Murdoch, Fiona Stanley Hospital, Joondalup and Midland? We on
this side have to take advice from a range of people when making important
decisions for this state. It is incumbent on us to listen to all voices, not
just one group, because we are making
decisions on behalf of everyone. When the infrastructure experts say it is not
safe to build that hospital there, it would be irresponsible for me to
stand up in the community and say that it was when I have had clear advice that
it is not. We will build a world-class, outstanding women's and babies'
hospital in the southern suburbs.
thank the member for Cockburn for his question. We know that no doubt the
decision to relocate the new women's
and babies' hospital to Murdoch alongside Fiona Stanley Hospital came
as a surprise to the community and the health sector. We accept that.
What we cannot accept, and what I cannot accept as minister, is the undeniable risks proposed with continuing to build on
the Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre site. The business case, the
Infrastructure WA review and advice from the director general all present
irrefutable evidence that to build another tertiary hospital on the QEII site
would pose an acceptable and unmitigatable risk to services, to the delivery of
critical services, and to access for patients and staff to Sir Charles Gairdner
Hospital and Perth Children's Hospital for up to 20 years. The only
responsible decision that the government could make is to build the hospital
alongside Fiona Stanley Hospital. There are
many, many advantages to this approach. Women and babies coming from regional
WA via the Royal Flying Doctor
Service will have very fast access to emergency care and have quicker and safer
access when they land at Jandakot and can go straight into adult tertiary
intensive care unit services at Fiona Stanley Hospital. Importantly,
women who are critically unwell following childbirth will have immediate access to expert ICU access next door at Fiona
Stanley Hospital. That is not currently the case. Women at King Edward
Memorial Hospital for Women currently have no access to expert ICU onsite or
co-located. They are not served well under the current arrangements and they
cannot wait longer. They are transferred from King Edward to Charlies under the
current arrangements.
Fiona Stanley Hospital is also home
to the only paediatric emergency department outside Perth Children's
Hospital in Western Australia. The team at Fiona Stanley Hospital have
experience in dealing with paediatric
emergencies and we have an opportunity to expand these services further. Fiona
Stanley Hospital is already going above and beyond in paediatric care
and is already working as a level 5 paediatric service. That means access to
24/7 on-call medical and surgery paediatric services, access to specialist
paediatric allied health services and support services. They are going through
the accreditation process to now get this formally recognised.
A senior Fiona Stanley Hospital
paediatric clinician wrote to me and stated —
FSH already provides a range of
paediatric services on site including surgery, neurology, feeding team,
gastroenterology, endocrinology, respiratory, child protection, metabolic, and
nephrology. Expansion of some of these
subspecialties will support not only the NICU at the new Women and Babies
Hospital at Murdoch but also the paediatric patients from South metro, avoiding
their travel to PCH. This will be a huge step forward for 'care
closer to home' for the large population in South Metro, East Metro
and country area health services. �
Tabling of Paper
Ms L. METTAM : I request that
the minister table what appears to be an official document.
The SPEAKER : Minister, I can
see highlighting and pen marks from here, but is it an official document?
Ms A. SANDERSON : It is a quote
from a letter that I received in my office embedded in the answer.
The SPEAKER : It is
transcribed there. There is no requirement to table it.
Questions without Notice Resumed
Ms A. SANDERSON : The
expansion of paediatric services at Fiona Stanley Hospital will mean more
trained paediatric staff, from consultants to nurses to allied health. The
neonatology experts at Fiona Stanley Hospital are world class. When the hospital opened nearly 10 years ago, it was
suggested that it would not be safe to have specialist neonatology
services delivered to Fiona Stanley and that we would not be able to recruit
highly trained clinicians. These claims have
proven to be baseless, yet the Leader of the Liberal Party continues to
recklessly claim that women and families will somehow receive a second-class
service at the Murdoch site. The Leader of the Liberal Party has shown complete
disregard for the facts, advice from infrastructure experts and the expertise
of highly regarded clinicians who live and
work outside Nedlands and Subiaco. She says that any decision that she makes
would be based on taking into account the best clinical advice. What
exactly does the member mean by that? Does that mean advice?
Ms L. Mettam interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please.
Mr P. Papalia : It was a rhetorical
question.
Ms A. SANDERSON : Indeed, it
was. Correct. It was a rhetorical question!
Ms L. Mettam interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order! Member for Vasse. If you want to
have the opportunity to ask a supplementary question, please do not continue to
interject.
Ms
A. SANDERSON : Does the Leader of
the Liberal Party mean that she would not take the advice from the director general of Health, who also happens to be a clinician? Does she mean that she
will not take advice from senior experienced
clinicians in neonatology at not just the Child and Adolescent Health Service,
but also Murdoch, Fiona Stanley Hospital, Joondalup and Midland? We on
this side have to take advice from a range of people when making important
decisions for this state. It is incumbent on us to listen to all voices, not
just one group, because we are making
decisions on behalf of everyone. When the infrastructure experts say it is not
safe to build that hospital there, it would be irresponsible for me to
stand up in the community and say that it was when I have had clear advice that
it is not. We will build a world-class, outstanding women's and babies'
hospital in the southern suburbs.
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