❓ The Minister for Health clarifies the level of trauma and neurosurgery services to be available at Fiona Stanley Hospital upon opening, outlining a phased approach to trauma capacity and a service distribution across major hospitals.
AnsweredQoN 471Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
FIONA STANLEY
HOSPITAL — NEUROSURGERY AND TRAUMA FACILITIES
471. Dr J.M. WOOLLARD to the Minister for Health:
(1) When Fiona
Stanley Hospital opens, what level of care will be available for trauma
patients at Fiona Stanley and when will Fiona Stanley be capable of handling
the full range of major trauma cases?
(2) When Fiona
Stanley opens, will the facilities and staff available for neurosurgery at
Fiona Stanley be comparable to that at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital?
HOSPITAL — NEUROSURGERY AND TRAUMA FACILITIES
471. Dr J.M. WOOLLARD to the Minister for Health:
(1) When Fiona
Stanley Hospital opens, what level of care will be available for trauma
patients at Fiona Stanley and when will Fiona Stanley be capable of handling
the full range of major trauma cases?
(2) When Fiona
Stanley opens, will the facilities and staff available for neurosurgery at
Fiona Stanley be comparable to that at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for the question and some notice of it.
(1)–(2)
I did give an indication in this house some time past of what we expected the
outcome and the setup to be. That has now been confirmed. A new clinical
services framework has been issued and placed on the web that shows what those
new services will be. On the two issues, I will employ the member's
comment on cardiothoracic services, if I may, in response to her question. The
state major trauma centre, which had $9 million spent on it by the former
government to upgrade it, will remain at Royal Perth Hospital. While we thought
we would need two major trauma units, the advice we have now received is that
there will be no need for two in 2018, four years after Fiona Stanley Hospital
opens; the need will be in 2020 or 2022. There will therefore be major trauma
capacity at Fiona Stanley to deal with some cases, particularly burns cases and
urgent cases from local regions; otherwise it will deal initially with city
trauma. But as there is a growth in demand in this state for major trauma
services, we will build the capacity at Fiona Stanley Hospital until the date
when we will have a fully serviced second major trauma service. So it will not
be officially a full major trauma service until it reaches that full capacity,
but we will grow that capacity steadily with time. That is quite logical,
obviously, because we will not suddenly go from needing one service to needing
two; the demand will grow steadily over time.
South of the river cardiothoracic
services and heart–lung transplant services and in fact a burns unit
will be located at the new Fiona Stanley Hospital. There will still be services
at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, as we need them, associated with cancer
services, and we have the capacity in the future when the new private service
opens at Joondalup Campus to contract to that hospital for other patients north
of the river.
For neurosurgical cases, a single
service will operate across the three major tertiary hospitals. The service
provided at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital will be designated level 6, which is
the top level of neurosurgical services—the highest level for a
tertiary service—but the roles will be different. Although at that
location there will be neurosurgical spinal surgery services and some trauma
services where required—growing, as I said previously, relating to
trauma—the high-level major brain surgery cases will remain at Sir
Charles Gairdner Hospital, as in fact it is that hospital's speciality,
if you like. In some ways therefore each hospital will have a speciality. Major
brain surgery services will be at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, as are cancer
services; major trauma services will be largely at Royal Perth Hospital; and a
burns unit, cardiothoracic services and heart–lung transplant services
will be at Fiona Stanley Hospital. I think that creates a good mix of services
across our health system and it will make sure that the whole of the
metropolitan area is well serviced in those areas.
(1)–(2)
I did give an indication in this house some time past of what we expected the
outcome and the setup to be. That has now been confirmed. A new clinical
services framework has been issued and placed on the web that shows what those
new services will be. On the two issues, I will employ the member's
comment on cardiothoracic services, if I may, in response to her question. The
state major trauma centre, which had $9 million spent on it by the former
government to upgrade it, will remain at Royal Perth Hospital. While we thought
we would need two major trauma units, the advice we have now received is that
there will be no need for two in 2018, four years after Fiona Stanley Hospital
opens; the need will be in 2020 or 2022. There will therefore be major trauma
capacity at Fiona Stanley to deal with some cases, particularly burns cases and
urgent cases from local regions; otherwise it will deal initially with city
trauma. But as there is a growth in demand in this state for major trauma
services, we will build the capacity at Fiona Stanley Hospital until the date
when we will have a fully serviced second major trauma service. So it will not
be officially a full major trauma service until it reaches that full capacity,
but we will grow that capacity steadily with time. That is quite logical,
obviously, because we will not suddenly go from needing one service to needing
two; the demand will grow steadily over time.
South of the river cardiothoracic
services and heart–lung transplant services and in fact a burns unit
will be located at the new Fiona Stanley Hospital. There will still be services
at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, as we need them, associated with cancer
services, and we have the capacity in the future when the new private service
opens at Joondalup Campus to contract to that hospital for other patients north
of the river.
For neurosurgical cases, a single
service will operate across the three major tertiary hospitals. The service
provided at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital will be designated level 6, which is
the top level of neurosurgical services—the highest level for a
tertiary service—but the roles will be different. Although at that
location there will be neurosurgical spinal surgery services and some trauma
services where required—growing, as I said previously, relating to
trauma—the high-level major brain surgery cases will remain at Sir
Charles Gairdner Hospital, as in fact it is that hospital's speciality,
if you like. In some ways therefore each hospital will have a speciality. Major
brain surgery services will be at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, as are cancer
services; major trauma services will be largely at Royal Perth Hospital; and a
burns unit, cardiothoracic services and heart–lung transplant services
will be at Fiona Stanley Hospital. I think that creates a good mix of services
across our health system and it will make sure that the whole of the
metropolitan area is well serviced in those areas.
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