❓ Mrs. Stojkovski asks about the performance of WA emergency departments amidst increasing national pressures. The Minister for Health responds, highlighting WA's leading performance in Australia, improvements in four-hour rule compliance, and commendation for healthcare staff.
AnsweredQoN 49Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
HOSPITALS —
EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS — PERFORMANCE
49. Mrs J.M.C. STOJKOVSKI to the Minister for Health:
I refer to reports that states
across the country are dealing with escalating pressures on their emergency
departments and health services. Can the minister update the house on how Western
Australian hospitals have handled that increased activity, and how Western Australia
is performing compared with the rest of the country?
EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS — PERFORMANCE
49. Mrs J.M.C. STOJKOVSKI to the Minister for Health:
I refer to reports that states
across the country are dealing with escalating pressures on their emergency
departments and health services. Can the minister update the house on how Western
Australian hospitals have handled that increased activity, and how Western Australia
is performing compared with the rest of the country?
AnswerView source ↗
I would like to thank the member for
the question. She is absolutely right: emergency departments right across the
country are really struggling with demand, and we are no orphan in that regard.
In WA, overall attendances for the first seven months of the 2018–19
financial year are 1.5 per cent higher than for the same period in 2017–18,
and 4.7 per cent higher than for the same period in 2016–17. It is true
that all our emergency departments are under increasing pressure, but I am very
proud to inform the house today that Western Australia's emergency
departments are the best performing of any state in Australia. According to the
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare's report ''Emergency
department care 2017–18: Australian hospital statistics'' and,
of course, the Productivity Commission's 2019 ''Report on
Government Services'', Western Australia achieved an average of 75.7 per
cent of patients being seen within four hours and were either admitted or
treated and discharged. That is a great result. It is obviously short of the 80
per cent that we all aim for, but it is a terrific result.
In particular, I am extremely proud
of our doctors and nurses. Western Australia is the only jurisdiction to have
seen an improvement on its four-hour rule performance in emergency departments—the
only state in Australia that is actually getting better. We have to understand
that this is in the context of difficult fiscal times. This is at a time when
the Western Australian health system is working harder with a reduced fiscal
capacity. Although expense growth in our health system for 2017–18 was
just two per cent—down from the recent average growth rate of 8.9 per
cent over the decade to 2016–17—our emergency departments are
actually improving.
This is a victory for the doctors,
nurses, allied health staff and support workers who work day and night to make
sure that Western Australians get the health care they need. Nearly 100 000
people per month go to our emergency departments, either to get care for life-threatening
conditions or simply to meet the needs of emergency situations. I am incredibly
proud of the work that the doctors and nurses and others put in, and we should
all be very proud. They have created a world-class health system that is, as I said,
second to none in Australia.
In particular, I commend the staff
and leadership at Fiona Stanley Hospital, Peel Health Campus, Armadale Health
Service, Broome Health Campus, Busselton Health Campus, Derby Hospital and
Kununurra Hospital, all of which have had Western Australian emergency access
target performances either remain steady or improve over the last 13 months. In
particular, I want to do a shout-out to Perth Children's Hospital,
which achieved a WAEAT score of 91 per cent in December 2018—a hospital
that looks fantastic and is working even better. We should all, as Western Australians,
be proud of what they are achieving on behalf of the sick people of Western Australia.
It is true that improvements
continually need to be made. We want to continue to make sure that we implement
urgent care clinic policies to ensure that we can take pressure away from EDs.
As I said yesterday, we have to work harder to improve the facilities in our
emergency departments to better treat the increasing number of mental health
patients who are presenting for help and relief. Western Australia is doing
outstandingly well in its emergency department performance, and we should all
be very proud. I commend all those involved.
the question. She is absolutely right: emergency departments right across the
country are really struggling with demand, and we are no orphan in that regard.
In WA, overall attendances for the first seven months of the 2018–19
financial year are 1.5 per cent higher than for the same period in 2017–18,
and 4.7 per cent higher than for the same period in 2016–17. It is true
that all our emergency departments are under increasing pressure, but I am very
proud to inform the house today that Western Australia's emergency
departments are the best performing of any state in Australia. According to the
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare's report ''Emergency
department care 2017–18: Australian hospital statistics'' and,
of course, the Productivity Commission's 2019 ''Report on
Government Services'', Western Australia achieved an average of 75.7 per
cent of patients being seen within four hours and were either admitted or
treated and discharged. That is a great result. It is obviously short of the 80
per cent that we all aim for, but it is a terrific result.
In particular, I am extremely proud
of our doctors and nurses. Western Australia is the only jurisdiction to have
seen an improvement on its four-hour rule performance in emergency departments—the
only state in Australia that is actually getting better. We have to understand
that this is in the context of difficult fiscal times. This is at a time when
the Western Australian health system is working harder with a reduced fiscal
capacity. Although expense growth in our health system for 2017–18 was
just two per cent—down from the recent average growth rate of 8.9 per
cent over the decade to 2016–17—our emergency departments are
actually improving.
This is a victory for the doctors,
nurses, allied health staff and support workers who work day and night to make
sure that Western Australians get the health care they need. Nearly 100 000
people per month go to our emergency departments, either to get care for life-threatening
conditions or simply to meet the needs of emergency situations. I am incredibly
proud of the work that the doctors and nurses and others put in, and we should
all be very proud. They have created a world-class health system that is, as I said,
second to none in Australia.
In particular, I commend the staff
and leadership at Fiona Stanley Hospital, Peel Health Campus, Armadale Health
Service, Broome Health Campus, Busselton Health Campus, Derby Hospital and
Kununurra Hospital, all of which have had Western Australian emergency access
target performances either remain steady or improve over the last 13 months. In
particular, I want to do a shout-out to Perth Children's Hospital,
which achieved a WAEAT score of 91 per cent in December 2018—a hospital
that looks fantastic and is working even better. We should all, as Western Australians,
be proud of what they are achieving on behalf of the sick people of Western Australia.
It is true that improvements
continually need to be made. We want to continue to make sure that we implement
urgent care clinic policies to ensure that we can take pressure away from EDs.
As I said yesterday, we have to work harder to improve the facilities in our
emergency departments to better treat the increasing number of mental health
patients who are presenting for help and relief. Western Australia is doing
outstandingly well in its emergency department performance, and we should all
be very proud. I commend all those involved.
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