Mr. Wyatt questions the Minister for Health regarding the disaster response plan for Coral Bay, specifically concerning the evacuation of aged and frail residents to the hospital. The Minister acknowledges the need for a plan but clarifies the Health Department's responsibility is limited to the hospital itself, not the overall town plan.

AnsweredQoN 175Legislative Assembly
Asked
18 March 2015
Portfolio
Health

QuestionView source ↗

DISASTER
RESPONSE PLAN — CORAL BAY RESIDENTS — EVACUATION OF AGED AND
FRAIL
175. Mr B.S. WYATT to the
Minister for Health:
I have a supplementary question. Can the minister confirm
that disaster response plans explicitly state that aged and frail people, as
these people were, should be evacuated to the hospital?

AnswerView source ↗

I cannot because I have not seen it. We expect that an
emergency plan would be in place for all parts of this state, so that we could
work out what capacity there is. If the plan includes the aged and frail and
everyone who was aged and fail went to the hospital and there was not enough
room for them, clearly that would not be appropriate. There needs to be proper
plans including working out how many people are aged and frail in the
community, whether the hospital is the ideal place for all of them or whether
it is the place for some —
Mr B.S. Wyatt : Can
you find out whether that is part of the plan?
Dr K.D. HAMES : I
am happy to explore that. Our people are responsible for what happens in the
hospital, not for the disaster plan for the whole town. That would be managed
probably by the Minister for Emergency Services or local government.

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