❓ Mr. Cook questions the Minister for Health regarding patient delays and elective surgery suspensions at Peel Health Campus. The Minister acknowledges issues and communication breakdowns, stating adjustments are sometimes necessary due to demand.
AnsweredQoN 784Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
PEEL HEALTH CAMPUS — ELECTIVE SURGERY
784. Mr R.H. COOK to the Minister for
Health:
Recently, in early September, a 76-year-old
male patient from the Mandurah area experienced intolerable delays with the bed
block at Peel Health Campus emergency department, leaving him in an emergency
department bay for two days, waiting for a bed in the hospital before
ultimately being transferred to another hospital simply because of the lack of
beds.
(1) Does the
minister think that it is acceptable that a patient, especially an elderly one,
should be held in an emergency department for two days without being allocated
a bed?
(2) Can the
minister confirm that public operations at Peel Health Campus have recently
been suspended due to the hospital being completely unable to meet the demand
from the community?
784. Mr R.H. COOK to the Minister for
Health:
Recently, in early September, a 76-year-old
male patient from the Mandurah area experienced intolerable delays with the bed
block at Peel Health Campus emergency department, leaving him in an emergency
department bay for two days, waiting for a bed in the hospital before
ultimately being transferred to another hospital simply because of the lack of
beds.
(1) Does the
minister think that it is acceptable that a patient, especially an elderly one,
should be held in an emergency department for two days without being allocated
a bed?
(2) Can the
minister confirm that public operations at Peel Health Campus have recently
been suspended due to the hospital being completely unable to meet the demand
from the community?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) Hospitals
need to operate within the ever-increasing financial allocation that they are
given. I do not know the specific situation with elective surgery at Peel
Health Campus in the last week, for example, but as a general statement
adjustments are sometimes made to respond to the increased demand from patients
coming through emergency departments. That is a normal process. It happened
when the Labor Party was in government and it happens now, as necessary, but
not as often as I am sure the member for Kwinana would present.
In relation to the particular case to
which the member for Kwinana referred, if we are talking about the case that I have in mind from early September,
I was made aware of a case in which a patient
was kept for what seemed to be an unreasonably long time without being
transferred to tertiary level care, as I recall, and he needed it. Contact was
made with my office and intervention from my office and communication with Peel
Health Campus and Fiona Stanley Hospital administration ensured that an
appropriate response and care was provided, as should have been the case. It appears
that there was a breakdown in communication, from memory, of some form or
other. Based on what I can recall and if we are talking about the same case, I agree that the level of
response provided for that patient was not what would have been reasonable to
expect.
need to operate within the ever-increasing financial allocation that they are
given. I do not know the specific situation with elective surgery at Peel
Health Campus in the last week, for example, but as a general statement
adjustments are sometimes made to respond to the increased demand from patients
coming through emergency departments. That is a normal process. It happened
when the Labor Party was in government and it happens now, as necessary, but
not as often as I am sure the member for Kwinana would present.
In relation to the particular case to
which the member for Kwinana referred, if we are talking about the case that I have in mind from early September,
I was made aware of a case in which a patient
was kept for what seemed to be an unreasonably long time without being
transferred to tertiary level care, as I recall, and he needed it. Contact was
made with my office and intervention from my office and communication with Peel
Health Campus and Fiona Stanley Hospital administration ensured that an
appropriate response and care was provided, as should have been the case. It appears
that there was a breakdown in communication, from memory, of some form or
other. Based on what I can recall and if we are talking about the same case, I agree that the level of
response provided for that patient was not what would have been reasonable to
expect.
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