❓ Dr. Honey questions the Minister for Health about the use and tracking of 'code yellow' internal emergencies in WA public hospitals. The Minister responds by explaining the purpose of code yellows and stating they are not a primary metric for assessing system efficiency.
AnsweredQoN 337Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
HOSPITALS — CODE YELLOW DECLARATIONS
337. Dr D.J. HONEY to the Minister for Health:
I refer to the increasing number of
incidences of code yellow internal emergencies being called in our state's
public hospitals and the minister's refusal to publish this data
yesterday.
(1) Is the number
and severity of these code yellows recorded by hospitals used to track trends
and assist in the management of hospitals?
(2) Are these
numbers reported to the director general and the minister; and, if not, has the
minister asked to see the data?
337. Dr D.J. HONEY to the Minister for Health:
I refer to the increasing number of
incidences of code yellow internal emergencies being called in our state's
public hospitals and the minister's refusal to publish this data
yesterday.
(1) Is the number
and severity of these code yellows recorded by hospitals used to track trends
and assist in the management of hospitals?
(2) Are these
numbers reported to the director general and the minister; and, if not, has the
minister asked to see the data?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) Code
yellow is a WA hospital emergency code based upon the Australian standards for
planning for emergencies. It is an internal
mechanism that is used to signal to staff that they need to look for
opportunities to discharge patients who do not need to be there in order
to free up beds. It is a normal part of a hospital system operating model to ensure that we get the best possible use of
our resources. It is enlivened in those situations in particular when a large number of people come into
emergency departments and we are yet to identify the beds in which those people, in the event that they are
admitted, are required to be accommodated . We continue to use these
mechanisms to ensure that our hospital system is running smoothly. From time to
time, they will be used if a number of beds are taken out of the system for a period
of time. That will temporarily contract the
number of beds available. It is not a metric that we use to understand whether
the system is operating efficiently.
That goes to other issues such as transfer of care times in EDs, our four-hour rule wait times and length of episode of care in EDs, as well as elective
surgery and outpatient metrics. From that point of view, the WA public has a great
opportunity to not only see how well the system is operating, but also understand how much it is under pressure at the
moment. A lot of these metrics are live.
As
a result of the policies that we have put in place, we make sure that people
can get accurate, up-to-date information
about how well their hospital system is operating. From that point of view, the
WA public has the opportunity to understand how well the system is operating.
Our hospital leaders have that opportunity. I do not think there is a league
table of code yellows and code blacks. There is such a thing as a code brown ,
but we do not want to contemplate that sort of outcome. From that point of
view, these mechanisms are all part of managing a dynamic, diverse and complex
health system.
yellow is a WA hospital emergency code based upon the Australian standards for
planning for emergencies. It is an internal
mechanism that is used to signal to staff that they need to look for
opportunities to discharge patients who do not need to be there in order
to free up beds. It is a normal part of a hospital system operating model to ensure that we get the best possible use of
our resources. It is enlivened in those situations in particular when a large number of people come into
emergency departments and we are yet to identify the beds in which those people, in the event that they are
admitted, are required to be accommodated . We continue to use these
mechanisms to ensure that our hospital system is running smoothly. From time to
time, they will be used if a number of beds are taken out of the system for a period
of time. That will temporarily contract the
number of beds available. It is not a metric that we use to understand whether
the system is operating efficiently.
That goes to other issues such as transfer of care times in EDs, our four-hour rule wait times and length of episode of care in EDs, as well as elective
surgery and outpatient metrics. From that point of view, the WA public has a great
opportunity to not only see how well the system is operating, but also understand how much it is under pressure at the
moment. A lot of these metrics are live.
As
a result of the policies that we have put in place, we make sure that people
can get accurate, up-to-date information
about how well their hospital system is operating. From that point of view, the
WA public has the opportunity to understand how well the system is operating.
Our hospital leaders have that opportunity. I do not think there is a league
table of code yellows and code blacks. There is such a thing as a code brown ,
but we do not want to contemplate that sort of outcome. From that point of
view, these mechanisms are all part of managing a dynamic, diverse and complex
health system.
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