Parliamentary Questions

(a) how many patients have been admitted to the general ward, each month at each campus, since 2017 for Port Hedland Hospital, or the opening of the Karratha Health Campus;
(b) how many patients have presented at the emergency department, on each month since in the same timelines;
(c) of those patients in (b), what are the waiting times for ATS 1-5 patients;
(d) how many patients have been admitted to the short stay unit at Karratha Health Campus, since its opening;
(e) how many instances of ''bed blocking'', where all emergency department and general ward beds are occupied, have occurred since the opening of the Karratha Health Campus, and since 2017 for Port Hedland Hospital;
(f) if any instances occurred in (e), where are patients who are waiting to be admitted placed;
(g) on how many occasions has a patient been delayed admission to the hospital, due to a lack of beds on the ward; and
(h) for each separate hospital, please outline monthly staffing levels for both doctors and nurses in both full-time employee terms, and actually staff numbers, both permanent and locum in the timelines previously mentioned.?
Answered on 16 April 2020

I am advised:

(a) The below table shows the number of admissions to the general ward at Hedland Health Campus and inpatient ward at Karratha Health Campus between January 2017 and February 2020.

(b) The below table shows the number of Emergency Department (ED) attendances to Hedland Health Campus and Karratha Health Campus between January 2017 to February 2020.

(c) The below table shows the average waiting time (minutes) of patients at Hedland Health Campus by triage category in ED for January 2017 to February 2020.

The below table shows the average waiting time (minutes) of patients at Karratha Health Campus by triage category in ED for January 2017 to February 2020. (Karratha opened September 2018).

(d) Since the opening of Karratha Health Campus, 47 patients have been admitted to the short stay unit and then subsequently discharged. This count does not include patients that were admitted to the short stay unit and were subsequently transferred to another ward.

(e) Nil

(f) Not Applicable.

(g) Delays in the admission of patients from an ED setting can be caused by a number of factors, often due to decisions made as to the most appropriate place to deliver the required clinical care.  This question cannot be definitively answered without detailed case level review of ED episode length, which at this stage would inappropriately divert operational resources from COVID-19 related priorities.

(h) See tabled paper no.