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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2019-02-27 Daily Xml
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Women's and Children's Hospital

The Hon. J.E. HANSON (15:30): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Minister for Health and Wellbeing regarding the Cassia Ward.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.E. HANSON: Yesterday, the minister was asked about reopening the Cassia Ward and said that:

The need is assessed on a daily basis and, if need is identified, Cassia Ward will be reopened. This can happen at any time across all shifts.

The Cassia Ward has been closed since before Christmas and has not reopened since then, despite the Women's and Children's Hospital paediatric ED hitting 165 per cent of capacity this week. Parents are reporting children with respiratory issues who, under normal circumstances, need an individual room, but are instead sharing a bathroom with several other children. In one instance a child with respiratory issues, who would normally have a private room because of the risk of contamination, has been placed in a different ward with a number of other patients.

My question to the minister is: why doesn't the minister think that the Women's and Children's Hospital paediatric ED hitting 165 per cent of capacity, and children with respiratory issues being forced to share rooms, which increases the risk of contamination, justifies the reopening of the Cassia Ward?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (15:31): Again, another Labor member who thinks they can make clinical judgements about the appropriate placement of—patients this time. They are telling clinicians how they should be running the emergency department at the Women's and Children's Hospital. As I said yesterday, to respond to changes in demand over the summer period, paediatric medical wards, including the medical Short Stay Ward and the Cassia Ward, have been amalgamated. This amalgamation occurs every summer—Labor did it—and it coincides with what is usually a reduced demand in activity over this period. This year has been no exception.

I am advised that today paediatric bed occupancy numbers at the Women's and Children's Hospital were 99 occupied beds. Of these patients, nine are confirmed ready to discharge and a further seven are queried for possible discharge. As at 2pm, there were nine confirmed spare paediatric beds. I reiterate what I told the house yesterday, which is that the needs of the hospital are assessed on a daily basis and, if a need is identified for Cassia Ward, it will be reopened, and this can happen at any time across all shifts.

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