Question Without Notice No. 926 asked in the Legislative Council on 5 December 2017 by Hon Robin Scott
Parliament: 40 Session: 1
MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING MACHINE — KALGOORLIE HOSPITAL
926. Hon ROBIN SCOTT to the parliamentary secretary representing the Minister for Health:
(1) Is the minister aware that on Monday, 4 December, a question asked in the Senate by Western Australian Senator Peter Georgiou on the subject of a magnetic resonance imaging machine for Kalgoorlie hospital received a response that the commonwealth Department of Health is in the process of reviewing the distribution and availability of MRI machines?
(2) Does the minister share Senator Georgiou's concern that the federal government has approved three MRI licences in Victoria at Frankston hospital, Maroondah Hospital and an Epworth HealthCare hospital while apparently delaying the MRI licence for Kalgoorlie hospital?
(3) Will the minister advise the progress of approaches to the federal government for an MRI licence for Kalgoorlie hospital?
(4) Will the minister estimate a date for installing an MRI machine in Kalgoorlie hospital?
(5) Can the minister confirm the estimate that an MRI machine installed in Kalgoorlie hospital will perform around 2 300 scans each year?
Hon SUE ELLERY replied:
On behalf of the parliamentary secretary representing the Minister for Health, I thank the honourable member for some notice of the question. I am advised of the following.
(1) Yes.
(2) The WA Country Health Service has not yet made an application to the commonwealth government for an MRI licence for Kalgoorlie hospital.
(3) Obtaining a Medicare licence from the commonwealth government is part of a sequenced implementation plan for this procurement. Following the state budget announcement about this project, the WA Country Health Service is proceeding with a concept brief that will scope the project in more detail, including demand modelling, cost requirements and licence options. This study is due for completion in January 2018, with a business case to be developed. Approaching the commonwealth government for a Medicare licence will be scheduled in the business case.
(4) Currently this project is at the concept stage. An MRI machine will be installed and commissioned in line with future state budget decisions.
(5) Based on the national average of approximately five per cent of all imaging being MRI, and with 42 085 imaging occasions of service in the goldfields in the 2016–17 financial year, it is estimated that approximately 2 000 MRI occasions of service could be expected each year.