CORONAVIRUS — HOSPITALS
— BIRTHS
46. Ms L. METTAM to the Minister for Health:
Before
I ask my question, it is worth noting that we have been inundated with
correspondence regarding the minister's response to an earlier
question. I refer to the very concerning issue that restrictions have been
placed on visitation and support for women who have given birth during
lockdowns, which can be very distressing, including leading to significant
mental health issues. Given that the minister was unaware of the significant
correspondence that his office had received when answering my question on
Tuesday, will the minister now outline to the house what he is doing to ensure
that birthing mothers are guaranteed proper support during lockdowns?
Mr R.H.
COOK replied:
I did not say that I was not aware
that people had made representations to my office; I was simply stating that I had
not seen the particular piece of correspondence that I think the member, or it
might have been the Leader of the Opposition, referred to in a question of
exactly the same nature as the one the member has just asked. My response will
be the same as it was the last time the member asked it, which is that any
restrictions around people's capacity to
move about the community, particularly to connect with other members of their
family in the context of COVID-19, are regrettable. These decisions are
not taken lightly; they are taken with a heavy heart but with a determination
to keep Western Australians safe. They are taken with the very best public
health advice available.
As I also said the other day, we expect our hospital leaders
to manage these situations in a way that is empathetic, sympathetic and
understanding of all hospital goers' needs, whether they are vulnerable
patients or young mothers giving birth. We will continue to make sure that they
have the best public health advice to make sure that we can keep people in our
hospitals safe. Hospitals have very many vulnerable members of our community in
them. They are also places in which a lot of people come and go. We will
continue to make sure that they are not a source of any spread of the disease,
which is the reason why we put these measures in place.
The last thing that we want in this situation is a politician
riding in arrogantly making decrees and telling hospital leaders and managers
how they should run their hospitals, particularly during this COVID-19 global
pandemic. That is the reason why we have always made sure that the decisions
that we make are informed by the very best public health advice, championed by
the Chief Health Officer. That is a principle that we are determined to stick
to and that is the principle that has kept Western Australians safe to date.
As many members would be aware, the Premier just made a statement
to the media announcing the easing of restrictions,
which will enable all people in hospitals, aged-care facilities and disability
care facilities to receive up to four visitors a day, including those in
birthing suites. We acknowledge that this has been difficult and a potentially painful
experience for many people, but we hope that this easing will go some way to
comforting them. We also hope that they take comfort in the fact that the
principles that we maintain with all the restrictions we put in place are about
keeping people safe and that they are made on the best available public health
advice.