❓ Mr Cook questions the impact of budget cuts on Fremantle Hospital's front-line services, citing patient neglect and ambulance ramping. Dr Hames apologizes for a previous misstatement, assures that cuts target backroom functions, and denies impact on patient care, highlighting increased nurse employment.
AnsweredQoN 205Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
FREMANTLE HOSPITAL — CUTS TO FRONT-LINE SERVICES
Recently at Fremantle Hospital, because nursing staff were too busy and overworked, a patient with an open wound was left in her bed lying in a pool of urine, therefore putting her at serious risk of infection. This week at Fremantle Hospital, ambulance ramping has peaked at more than 100 hours. In the face of such overwhelming evidence, does the minister still maintain that his three per cent cuts to nursing shifts and other hospital functions are not having a severe impact on front-line services? Dr K.D. HAMES
Recently at Fremantle Hospital, because nursing staff were too busy and overworked, a patient with an open wound was left in her bed lying in a pool of urine, therefore putting her at serious risk of infection. This week at Fremantle Hospital, ambulance ramping has peaked at more than 100 hours. In the face of such overwhelming evidence, does the minister still maintain that his three per cent cuts to nursing shifts and other hospital functions are not having a severe impact on front-line services? Dr K.D. HAMES
AnswerView source ↗
I thank “Sir Dorothy” for the question. It is good to have the opportunity to talk about what has happened at Fremantle Hospital with the three per cent cuts. I want to take this opportunity to apologise to the member—I have said this to him privately—but I had somewhat of a go at the member for not knowing when the Director General of Health would be appearing before a committee of the other house. I thought it was today. The actual day is next Wednesday, so I apologise for that. The member has referred to whether the three per cent cuts will affect front-line services at Fremantle Hospital. The member will have the answer to that question when the director general appears before the committee next Wednesday. The member probably knows that already, because he has the document. Many of the cuts that are detailed in that document are to backroom functions that will not affect front-line services. The case to which the member has referred is obviously very distressing for the patient concerned. That is not acceptable, and I am happy to have my staff investigate what went wrong. However, it would not have occurred through lack of nursing staff. I made the point very clearly in my speech earlier today that we are seeking to reduce our dependence on agency nurses, because the cost of agency nurses is almost an extra $50 000 a year. Those costs are partly for the nursing staff, partly for administrative costs and partly for the agency. We are seeking to replace those agency nurses with full-time or part-time nurses. We are also increasing the number of nurses. As the member would know, a commitment was made by the former Minister for Health—which we have matched—to provide an additional 800 nurses over the next four years. We will meet that commitment. Over the past year in particular—six months of the former government’s time and six months of our time—there has been an increase in the employment of nurses. An additional 700 nurses have been employed in Western Australia, 500 of which have been in the metropolitan area, and an additional 100 nurses have been employed at Fremantle Hospital. The shifts of nurses are also being changed. It is a matter of achieving more efficient management, but with no change in the availability of nurses to service their patients. The member for Bassendean has raised an issue that I will be investigating. However, I stand by my argument that the three per cent cuts will not affect front-line health services in this state.
Dr K.D. HAMES replied: I thank “Sir Dorothy” for the question. It is good to have the opportunity to talk about what has happened at Fremantle Hospital with the three per cent cuts. I want to take this opportunity to apologise to the member—I have said this to him privately—but I had somewhat of a go at the member for not knowing when the Director General of Health would be appearing before a committee of the other house. I thought it was today. The actual day is next Wednesday, so I apologise for that. The member has referred to whether the three per cent cuts will affect front-line services at Fremantle Hospital. The member will have the answer to that question when the director general appears before the committee next Wednesday. The member probably knows that already, because he has the document. Many of the cuts that are detailed in that document are to backroom functions that will not affect front-line services. The case to which the member has referred is obviously very distressing for the patient concerned. That is not acceptable, and I am happy to have my staff investigate what went wrong. However, it would not have occurred through lack of nursing staff. I made the point very clearly in my speech earlier today that we are seeking to reduce our dependence on agency nurses, because the cost of agency nurses is almost an extra $50 000 a year. Those costs are partly for the nursing staff, partly for administrative costs and partly for the agency. We are seeking to replace those agency nurses with full-time or part-time nurses. We are also increasing the number of nurses. As the member would know, a commitment was made by the former Minister for Health—which we have matched—to provide an additional 800 nurses over the next four years. We will meet that commitment. Over the past year in particular—six months of the former government’s time and six months of our time—there has been an increase in the employment of nurses. An additional 700 nurses have been employed in Western Australia, 500 of which have been in the metropolitan area, and an additional 100 nurses have been employed at Fremantle Hospital. The shifts of nurses are also being changed. It is a matter of achieving more efficient management, but with no change in the availability of nurses to service their patients. The member for Bassendean has raised an issue that I will be investigating. However, I stand by my argument that the three per cent cuts will not affect front-line health services in this state.
I thank “Sir Dorothy” for the question. It is good to have the opportunity to talk about what has happened at Fremantle Hospital with the three per cent cuts. I want to take this opportunity to apologise to the member—I have said this to him privately—but I had somewhat of a go at the member for not knowing when the Director General of Health would be appearing before a committee of the other house. I thought it was today. The actual day is next Wednesday, so I apologise for that. The member has referred to whether the three per cent cuts will affect front-line services at Fremantle Hospital. The member will have the answer to that question when the director general appears before the committee next Wednesday. The member probably knows that already, because he has the document. Many of the cuts that are detailed in that document are to backroom functions that will not affect front-line services. The case to which the member has referred is obviously very distressing for the patient concerned. That is not acceptable, and I am happy to have my staff investigate what went wrong. However, it would not have occurred through lack of nursing staff. I made the point very clearly in my speech earlier today that we are seeking to reduce our dependence on agency nurses, because the cost of agency nurses is almost an extra $50 000 a year. Those costs are partly for the nursing staff, partly for administrative costs and partly for the agency. We are seeking to replace those agency nurses with full-time or part-time nurses. We are also increasing the number of nurses. As the member would know, a commitment was made by the former Minister for Health—which we have matched—to provide an additional 800 nurses over the next four years. We will meet that commitment. Over the past year in particular—six months of the former government’s time and six months of our time—there has been an increase in the employment of nurses. An additional 700 nurses have been employed in Western Australia, 500 of which have been in the metropolitan area, and an additional 100 nurses have been employed at Fremantle Hospital. The shifts of nurses are also being changed. It is a matter of achieving more efficient management, but with no change in the availability of nurses to service their patients. The member for Bassendean has raised an issue that I will be investigating. However, I stand by my argument that the three per cent cuts will not affect front-line health services in this state.
I want to take this opportunity to apologise to the member—I have said this to him privately—but I had somewhat of a go at the member for not knowing when the Director General of Health would be appearing before a committee of the other house. I thought it was today. The actual day is next Wednesday, so I apologise for that. The member has referred to whether the three per cent cuts will affect front-line services at Fremantle Hospital. The member will have the answer to that question when the director general appears before the committee next Wednesday. The member probably knows that already, because he has the document. Many of the cuts that are detailed in that document are to backroom functions that will not affect front-line services. The case to which the member has referred is obviously very distressing for the patient concerned. That is not acceptable, and I am happy to have my staff investigate what went wrong. However, it would not have occurred through lack of nursing staff. I made the point very clearly in my speech earlier today that we are seeking to reduce our dependence on agency nurses, because the cost of agency nurses is almost an extra $50 000 a year. Those costs are partly for the nursing staff, partly for administrative costs and partly for the agency. We are seeking to replace those agency nurses with full-time or part-time nurses. We are also increasing the number of nurses. As the member would know, a commitment was made by the former Minister for Health—which we have matched—to provide an additional 800 nurses over the next four years. We will meet that commitment. Over the past year in particular—six months of the former government’s time and six months of our time—there has been an increase in the employment of nurses. An additional 700 nurses have been employed in Western Australia, 500 of which have been in the metropolitan area, and an additional 100 nurses have been employed at Fremantle Hospital. The shifts of nurses are also being changed. It is a matter of achieving more efficient management, but with no change in the availability of nurses to service their patients. The member for Bassendean has raised an issue that I will be investigating. However, I stand by my argument that the three per cent cuts will not affect front-line health services in this state.
The member has referred to whether the three per cent cuts will affect front-line services at Fremantle Hospital. The member will have the answer to that question when the director general appears before the committee next Wednesday. The member probably knows that already, because he has the document. Many of the cuts that are detailed in that document are to backroom functions that will not affect front-line services. The case to which the member has referred is obviously very distressing for the patient concerned. That is not acceptable, and I am happy to have my staff investigate what went wrong. However, it would not have occurred through lack of nursing staff. I made the point very clearly in my speech earlier today that we are seeking to reduce our dependence on agency nurses, because the cost of agency nurses is almost an extra $50 000 a year. Those costs are partly for the nursing staff, partly for administrative costs and partly for the agency. We are seeking to replace those agency nurses with full-time or part-time nurses. We are also increasing the number of nurses. As the member would know, a commitment was made by the former Minister for Health—which we have matched—to provide an additional 800 nurses over the next four years. We will meet that commitment. Over the past year in particular—six months of the former government’s time and six months of our time—there has been an increase in the employment of nurses. An additional 700 nurses have been employed in Western Australia, 500 of which have been in the metropolitan area, and an additional 100 nurses have been employed at Fremantle Hospital. The shifts of nurses are also being changed. It is a matter of achieving more efficient management, but with no change in the availability of nurses to service their patients. The member for Bassendean has raised an issue that I will be investigating. However, I stand by my argument that the three per cent cuts will not affect front-line health services in this state.
The case to which the member has referred is obviously very distressing for the patient concerned. That is not acceptable, and I am happy to have my staff investigate what went wrong. However, it would not have occurred through lack of nursing staff. I made the point very clearly in my speech earlier today that we are seeking to reduce our dependence on agency nurses, because the cost of agency nurses is almost an extra $50 000 a year. Those costs are partly for the nursing staff, partly for administrative costs and partly for the agency. We are seeking to replace those agency nurses with full-time or part-time nurses. We are also increasing the number of nurses. As the member would know, a commitment was made by the former Minister for Health—which we have matched—to provide an additional 800 nurses over the next four years. We will meet that commitment. Over the past year in particular—six months of the former government’s time and six months of our time—there has been an increase in the employment of nurses. An additional 700 nurses have been employed in Western Australia, 500 of which have been in the metropolitan area, and an additional 100 nurses have been employed at Fremantle Hospital. The shifts of nurses are also being changed. It is a matter of achieving more efficient management, but with no change in the availability of nurses to service their patients. The member for Bassendean has raised an issue that I will be investigating. However, I stand by my argument that the three per cent cuts will not affect front-line health services in this state.
Dr K.D. HAMES replied: I thank “Sir Dorothy” for the question. It is good to have the opportunity to talk about what has happened at Fremantle Hospital with the three per cent cuts. I want to take this opportunity to apologise to the member—I have said this to him privately—but I had somewhat of a go at the member for not knowing when the Director General of Health would be appearing before a committee of the other house. I thought it was today. The actual day is next Wednesday, so I apologise for that. The member has referred to whether the three per cent cuts will affect front-line services at Fremantle Hospital. The member will have the answer to that question when the director general appears before the committee next Wednesday. The member probably knows that already, because he has the document. Many of the cuts that are detailed in that document are to backroom functions that will not affect front-line services. The case to which the member has referred is obviously very distressing for the patient concerned. That is not acceptable, and I am happy to have my staff investigate what went wrong. However, it would not have occurred through lack of nursing staff. I made the point very clearly in my speech earlier today that we are seeking to reduce our dependence on agency nurses, because the cost of agency nurses is almost an extra $50 000 a year. Those costs are partly for the nursing staff, partly for administrative costs and partly for the agency. We are seeking to replace those agency nurses with full-time or part-time nurses. We are also increasing the number of nurses. As the member would know, a commitment was made by the former Minister for Health—which we have matched—to provide an additional 800 nurses over the next four years. We will meet that commitment. Over the past year in particular—six months of the former government’s time and six months of our time—there has been an increase in the employment of nurses. An additional 700 nurses have been employed in Western Australia, 500 of which have been in the metropolitan area, and an additional 100 nurses have been employed at Fremantle Hospital. The shifts of nurses are also being changed. It is a matter of achieving more efficient management, but with no change in the availability of nurses to service their patients. The member for Bassendean has raised an issue that I will be investigating. However, I stand by my argument that the three per cent cuts will not affect front-line health services in this state.
I thank “Sir Dorothy” for the question. It is good to have the opportunity to talk about what has happened at Fremantle Hospital with the three per cent cuts. I want to take this opportunity to apologise to the member—I have said this to him privately—but I had somewhat of a go at the member for not knowing when the Director General of Health would be appearing before a committee of the other house. I thought it was today. The actual day is next Wednesday, so I apologise for that. The member has referred to whether the three per cent cuts will affect front-line services at Fremantle Hospital. The member will have the answer to that question when the director general appears before the committee next Wednesday. The member probably knows that already, because he has the document. Many of the cuts that are detailed in that document are to backroom functions that will not affect front-line services. The case to which the member has referred is obviously very distressing for the patient concerned. That is not acceptable, and I am happy to have my staff investigate what went wrong. However, it would not have occurred through lack of nursing staff. I made the point very clearly in my speech earlier today that we are seeking to reduce our dependence on agency nurses, because the cost of agency nurses is almost an extra $50 000 a year. Those costs are partly for the nursing staff, partly for administrative costs and partly for the agency. We are seeking to replace those agency nurses with full-time or part-time nurses. We are also increasing the number of nurses. As the member would know, a commitment was made by the former Minister for Health—which we have matched—to provide an additional 800 nurses over the next four years. We will meet that commitment. Over the past year in particular—six months of the former government’s time and six months of our time—there has been an increase in the employment of nurses. An additional 700 nurses have been employed in Western Australia, 500 of which have been in the metropolitan area, and an additional 100 nurses have been employed at Fremantle Hospital. The shifts of nurses are also being changed. It is a matter of achieving more efficient management, but with no change in the availability of nurses to service their patients. The member for Bassendean has raised an issue that I will be investigating. However, I stand by my argument that the three per cent cuts will not affect front-line health services in this state.
I want to take this opportunity to apologise to the member—I have said this to him privately—but I had somewhat of a go at the member for not knowing when the Director General of Health would be appearing before a committee of the other house. I thought it was today. The actual day is next Wednesday, so I apologise for that. The member has referred to whether the three per cent cuts will affect front-line services at Fremantle Hospital. The member will have the answer to that question when the director general appears before the committee next Wednesday. The member probably knows that already, because he has the document. Many of the cuts that are detailed in that document are to backroom functions that will not affect front-line services. The case to which the member has referred is obviously very distressing for the patient concerned. That is not acceptable, and I am happy to have my staff investigate what went wrong. However, it would not have occurred through lack of nursing staff. I made the point very clearly in my speech earlier today that we are seeking to reduce our dependence on agency nurses, because the cost of agency nurses is almost an extra $50 000 a year. Those costs are partly for the nursing staff, partly for administrative costs and partly for the agency. We are seeking to replace those agency nurses with full-time or part-time nurses. We are also increasing the number of nurses. As the member would know, a commitment was made by the former Minister for Health—which we have matched—to provide an additional 800 nurses over the next four years. We will meet that commitment. Over the past year in particular—six months of the former government’s time and six months of our time—there has been an increase in the employment of nurses. An additional 700 nurses have been employed in Western Australia, 500 of which have been in the metropolitan area, and an additional 100 nurses have been employed at Fremantle Hospital. The shifts of nurses are also being changed. It is a matter of achieving more efficient management, but with no change in the availability of nurses to service their patients. The member for Bassendean has raised an issue that I will be investigating. However, I stand by my argument that the three per cent cuts will not affect front-line health services in this state.
The member has referred to whether the three per cent cuts will affect front-line services at Fremantle Hospital. The member will have the answer to that question when the director general appears before the committee next Wednesday. The member probably knows that already, because he has the document. Many of the cuts that are detailed in that document are to backroom functions that will not affect front-line services. The case to which the member has referred is obviously very distressing for the patient concerned. That is not acceptable, and I am happy to have my staff investigate what went wrong. However, it would not have occurred through lack of nursing staff. I made the point very clearly in my speech earlier today that we are seeking to reduce our dependence on agency nurses, because the cost of agency nurses is almost an extra $50 000 a year. Those costs are partly for the nursing staff, partly for administrative costs and partly for the agency. We are seeking to replace those agency nurses with full-time or part-time nurses. We are also increasing the number of nurses. As the member would know, a commitment was made by the former Minister for Health—which we have matched—to provide an additional 800 nurses over the next four years. We will meet that commitment. Over the past year in particular—six months of the former government’s time and six months of our time—there has been an increase in the employment of nurses. An additional 700 nurses have been employed in Western Australia, 500 of which have been in the metropolitan area, and an additional 100 nurses have been employed at Fremantle Hospital. The shifts of nurses are also being changed. It is a matter of achieving more efficient management, but with no change in the availability of nurses to service their patients. The member for Bassendean has raised an issue that I will be investigating. However, I stand by my argument that the three per cent cuts will not affect front-line health services in this state.
The case to which the member has referred is obviously very distressing for the patient concerned. That is not acceptable, and I am happy to have my staff investigate what went wrong. However, it would not have occurred through lack of nursing staff. I made the point very clearly in my speech earlier today that we are seeking to reduce our dependence on agency nurses, because the cost of agency nurses is almost an extra $50 000 a year. Those costs are partly for the nursing staff, partly for administrative costs and partly for the agency. We are seeking to replace those agency nurses with full-time or part-time nurses. We are also increasing the number of nurses. As the member would know, a commitment was made by the former Minister for Health—which we have matched—to provide an additional 800 nurses over the next four years. We will meet that commitment. Over the past year in particular—six months of the former government’s time and six months of our time—there has been an increase in the employment of nurses. An additional 700 nurses have been employed in Western Australia, 500 of which have been in the metropolitan area, and an additional 100 nurses have been employed at Fremantle Hospital. The shifts of nurses are also being changed. It is a matter of achieving more efficient management, but with no change in the availability of nurses to service their patients. The member for Bassendean has raised an issue that I will be investigating. However, I stand by my argument that the three per cent cuts will not affect front-line health services in this state.
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.