CORONAVIRUS —
VENTILATORS — VIRAL PANDEMIC PLAN
289. Hon CHARLES SMITH to the parliamentary secretary
representing the Minister for Health:
I refer to the minister's
recent televised comments regarding sourcing ventilators for our state.
(1) How many ventilators does the
state currently have?
(2) How many are forecast to be
required as the pandemic continues in Western Australia?
(3) How many ventilators is the
government sourcing?
(4) What companies and countries is
the government sourcing the additional ventilators from?
(5) Does the state have an
emergency management plan that� includes response to a viral pandemic?
(6) Is the state following this
plan?
(7) When was this plan produced,
and by whom?
Hon
ALANNA CLOHESY replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1) There are approximately 390
ventilators in the system today.
(2) It is too early to accurately determine the number
of infections anticipated in WA and therefore the number of ventilators
required. The Department of Health is currently looking at a range of modelling
scenarios to reflect the different interventions and the potential effect on
the rates of community transition.
(3) As at 31 March 2020, there are
301 additional ventilators on order.
(4) As at 31 March 2020, 301
ventilators have been purchased.
(5) ''State
Hazard Plan: Human Biosecurity'' is the state plan for the management of
the hazard of human epidemic. ''State Hazard Plan: Human Biosecurity''
supports the state emergency plan. Both of these plans are approved through the
State Emergency Management Committee. The WA Health system has internal plans
that guide response measures.
(6) Yes, the state is following the
plans outlined in part (5).
(7) The ''State
Hazard Plan: Human Biosecurity'' was last approved on 10 May 2019. This
plan is the responsibility of the state human epidemic controller and state
health coordinator.