❓ Mettam questions the Minister for Health about a previously stated supernumerary resuscitation team at Perth Children's Hospital. The Minister acknowledges incorrect prior advice and outlines steps to rectify the situation, including recruitment and upskilling.
AnsweredQoN 116Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
PERTH CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL —
EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT — RESUSCITATION TEAM
116. Ms L. METTAM to the Minister for Health:
I refer to the minister's comments in this house in
September last year, stating that the supernumerary resuscitation team had been
delivered at Perth Children's Hospital when it clearly had not.
(1) Will the minister provide a correction to the house for
misleading it?
(2) Can the
minister confirm whether this critical recommendation for a dedicated
resuscitation team is now in place on every roster above and beyond the normal
rostered staff; and, if not, why not?
EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT — RESUSCITATION TEAM
116. Ms L. METTAM to the Minister for Health:
I refer to the minister's comments in this house in
September last year, stating that the supernumerary resuscitation team had been
delivered at Perth Children's Hospital when it clearly had not.
(1) Will the minister provide a correction to the house for
misleading it?
(2) Can the
minister confirm whether this critical recommendation for a dedicated
resuscitation team is now in place on every roster above and beyond the normal
rostered staff; and, if not, why not?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2)
The Australian Nursing Federation's 10-point plan was presented to the
government in 2021 and contained 10 quite sensible recommendations around
managing the workload for nursing staff in the wake of Aishwarya's
death. Last year, the information that I had was that the Child and Adolescent
Health Service and the government had accepted that 10-point plan, with the
exception of the ratios, because the government did not have a position at that
time around staff to patient ratios. Point 3 of that 10-point plan was that a supernumerary
resuscitation team, which is four senior experienced nurses, would be available
on every single roster to assist in other areas of patient support when not
required for resuscitation. That is what is called a dedicated resuscitation
team.
In 2021, the state government
provided a significant funding uplift to CAHS. CAHS also reconfigured internal
funding, which resulted in a very large uplift of staff for the emergency
department. That was around 48 FTE nursing staff. There was an uplift of over
10 emergency department paediatric consultants, which is an increase, and an
increase of 12 junior medical staff to a total of 58.25. That is an uplift of
around 73 per cent of staffing for that emergency department, with that funding
and the CAHS funding.
The information that I had was
that the resuscitation team was in place and operating as per the ANF's
10-point plan. I have based my comments in this place and in public on that
information. The advice was then confirmed to me in writing in response to the
release of the coroner's report into Aishwarya's death. Shortly
after receiving that advice, I then received further advice from CAHS that that
was not the case. Although the team was
dedicated to resuscitation, it was not supernumerary to the roster, and I immediately moved to correct the public record on that
issue. Of course I regret that. It is disappointing and it is frustrating that that was the advice that I received.
I
will be clear: there are always four dedicated resuscitation nurses on the
roster at Perth Children's Hospital for morning, afternoon and night shifts. The chief executive has sent a directive
to the emergency department clarifying the definition of supernumerary
and made it very clear that there is to be significant recruitment of senior
nurses into the roster to allow for those resuscitation nurses to be made
supernumerary.
To provide some context,
paediatric nursing is a specialty area, and all specialty nursing areas are
under pressure. Nursing across the world is under pressure. Currently, around
11 per cent of the cohort in the emergency
department have the skills for paediatric resuscitation. CAHS is working to
rapidly recruit and upskill paediatric nurses to fill those roles.
Currently, around 60 junior paediatric nurses are on various stages of that pathway. It takes about 18 months
to two years to complete that particular competency. That is a very
specific skill. I have asked CAHS to present me with a plan of rapidly
upskilling those already on the pathway, providing them with more professional
development to allow them to upskill quicker and to fill those supernumerary
roles. I expect that plan to be with me very soon and for that to be put in
place.
There
has been a significant staffing uplift. Members will recall that we have had
COVID in our community since January of last year, including the second
wave, which took us right up to December. All last year we had high levels of
furlough numbers across every single health service. That put a strain on
staffing. Paediatric staffing is a specialty. We cannot just call on agency
staff from anywhere and put too many general nurses into those roles because
keeping that skills mix is central to the safety of the ward. That is why it
has been challenging to fill those roles.
I will say that the government funded
CAHS for an uplift. It was our expectation that they are supernumerary. I have a commitment from CAHS that
they will be supernumerary. I assure the community that there are always
four skilled resuscitation nurses on the roster every day.
The Australian Nursing Federation's 10-point plan was presented to the
government in 2021 and contained 10 quite sensible recommendations around
managing the workload for nursing staff in the wake of Aishwarya's
death. Last year, the information that I had was that the Child and Adolescent
Health Service and the government had accepted that 10-point plan, with the
exception of the ratios, because the government did not have a position at that
time around staff to patient ratios. Point 3 of that 10-point plan was that a supernumerary
resuscitation team, which is four senior experienced nurses, would be available
on every single roster to assist in other areas of patient support when not
required for resuscitation. That is what is called a dedicated resuscitation
team.
In 2021, the state government
provided a significant funding uplift to CAHS. CAHS also reconfigured internal
funding, which resulted in a very large uplift of staff for the emergency
department. That was around 48 FTE nursing staff. There was an uplift of over
10 emergency department paediatric consultants, which is an increase, and an
increase of 12 junior medical staff to a total of 58.25. That is an uplift of
around 73 per cent of staffing for that emergency department, with that funding
and the CAHS funding.
The information that I had was
that the resuscitation team was in place and operating as per the ANF's
10-point plan. I have based my comments in this place and in public on that
information. The advice was then confirmed to me in writing in response to the
release of the coroner's report into Aishwarya's death. Shortly
after receiving that advice, I then received further advice from CAHS that that
was not the case. Although the team was
dedicated to resuscitation, it was not supernumerary to the roster, and I immediately moved to correct the public record on that
issue. Of course I regret that. It is disappointing and it is frustrating that that was the advice that I received.
I
will be clear: there are always four dedicated resuscitation nurses on the
roster at Perth Children's Hospital for morning, afternoon and night shifts. The chief executive has sent a directive
to the emergency department clarifying the definition of supernumerary
and made it very clear that there is to be significant recruitment of senior
nurses into the roster to allow for those resuscitation nurses to be made
supernumerary.
To provide some context,
paediatric nursing is a specialty area, and all specialty nursing areas are
under pressure. Nursing across the world is under pressure. Currently, around
11 per cent of the cohort in the emergency
department have the skills for paediatric resuscitation. CAHS is working to
rapidly recruit and upskill paediatric nurses to fill those roles.
Currently, around 60 junior paediatric nurses are on various stages of that pathway. It takes about 18 months
to two years to complete that particular competency. That is a very
specific skill. I have asked CAHS to present me with a plan of rapidly
upskilling those already on the pathway, providing them with more professional
development to allow them to upskill quicker and to fill those supernumerary
roles. I expect that plan to be with me very soon and for that to be put in
place.
There
has been a significant staffing uplift. Members will recall that we have had
COVID in our community since January of last year, including the second
wave, which took us right up to December. All last year we had high levels of
furlough numbers across every single health service. That put a strain on
staffing. Paediatric staffing is a specialty. We cannot just call on agency
staff from anywhere and put too many general nurses into those roles because
keeping that skills mix is central to the safety of the ward. That is why it
has been challenging to fill those roles.
I will say that the government funded
CAHS for an uplift. It was our expectation that they are supernumerary. I have a commitment from CAHS that
they will be supernumerary. I assure the community that there are always
four skilled resuscitation nurses on the roster every day.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.