AMBULANCE RAMPING
821. Ms L. METTAM to the Minister for Health:
I have a supplementary question. The
numbers do not lie. It is the highest figure for November on record and the
additional 200 hours —
The SPEAKER: Sorry, member
for Vasse! This is not an opportunity for debate or for you to put your own
spin on the minister's answer. You can ask a short, sharp supplementary
question.
Ms L. METTAM: When will the
minister's government start to take responsibility for these damning
and dangerous figures?
Ms S. Winton interjected.
The SPEAKER: Sorry, minister,
just wait for the member for Wanneroo.
Ms A.
SANDERSON replied:
Madam Speaker, you have just seen in
action the work that has been done over the last six to 12 months. We are
taking responsibility to manage our emergency services. That is a big and
complex system, as every person says, even the independent experts at the
Australasian College for Emergency Medicine. The president of that college
himself says that this is a systemic issue. It is actually a global issue.
No-one has solved the ramping. The president has said that the work the WA
government is doing is nation-leading and very promising and that he has a seat
at the table. The Liberal Party's
former Minister for Health says that it is very easy to throw stones; it is a lot
harder to solve the problem. But our
record investment in beds, in new models of care and in emergency management,
and the new federal government's future investment in primary care will
all see improvements in access to emergency care.
I pretty much expect that after this
summer break, the member will have reached the five votes that she needs to become Leader of the Opposition—five! Got
to work those numbers hard and hit the phones to get those five votes!
She will have to come up with some ideas and explain to the community what her
position is.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER: Order, please!