SNAKEBITES —
ANTIVENOM
1028. Hon ROBIN CHAPPLE to the parliamentary secretary
representing the Minister for Health:
This question is similar to some
other questions asked today. I refer to the availability of antivenin in
regional Western Australia.
(1) Do all Western Australian
regional hospitals hold antivenin?
(2) If no to (1), why not?
(3) Given the
likelihood of being bitten by a snake is higher in regional WA, what will the
minister do to rectify this situation?
(4) Given the
recent incident in Kalgoorlie in which a person who was bitten by a king brown
snake was not able to receive antivenom for six hours and who now has a very
long road to recovery, does the minister feel the issue should be resolved as a
matter or priority?
Hon ALANNA
CLOHESY replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1) No. Currently
69 of the 81 WA Country Health Service facilities have antivenom. I have
incorporated those into Hansard previously.
(2) There are 12 small facilities
that have not fully transitioned to stocking antivenom.
(3)–(4) The
incident occurred at Forrestania, south of Southern Cross. WACHS has been
reviewing its guidelines since July 2018, following changes in the management
of snake envenomation at a national level and the availability of specialist
medical support through the Emergency Telehealth Service, which has enabled
more comprehensive assessment of suspected snakebite patients in country health
services. The Minister for Health has requested that WACHS fast-track the
completion of the review and subsequent implementation. WACHS is progressively
expanding antivenom stock across 81 sites to ensure the availability and use of
antivenom in patients who present with symptoms of snakebite envenomation.
Snake envenomation is complex and not all manifestations of envenomation are
able to be treated with antivenom. Antivenom administration is not without
risks, including variable rates of anaphylaxis, up to 40 per cent for some
antivenoms. WACHS supports the minimum stock levels defined by the Western Australian
Therapeutic Advisory Group critical medicine list for antivenom. However, it
has been determined that an expanded availability of antivenoms can be
supported.