Legislative Assembly - UK Hospital Tour (November 17 to 21, 2008)

Last week I accompanied a multi-professional delegation from the Health Department in Western Australia to the United Kingdom.  The delegation was headed by Dr Robyn Lawrence.

The purpose of the visit was to view first hand an initiative introduced by the United Kingdom's National Health Service to radically reform the way it manages acute patient care to improve access and reduce waiting times for patients presenting to Emergency Departments.

In 2004, the National Health Service introduced a "4-Hour Target" which represented the maximum time a patient who presents to an Emergency Department has to wait before being treated and discharged or admitted.

In London the delegation met with Professor Sir George Alberti, former President of the Royal College of Physicians in London.  As National Director for Emergency Access, Sir George is responsible for the implementation of the 10-year Emergency Care Strategy. 

The delegation visited St Mary's Hospital and met with Dr Julian Redhead, Chief of Service for Emergency Medicine, Dr Gary Davies at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, Dr Veronica White, Lead Clinician Acute Medicine at the Royal London Hospital and Mr Mark Jennings of the National Health Service Institute for Innovation and Improvement.

The WA delegation also met with Mrs Kerry Sanderson, our Agent General in London and discussed progress with the program to recruit nurses for WA public hospitals.

Whilst in London, I also met with Mr Peter Coates, Director of Finance and Investment with the National Health Service.  Mr Coates has the responsibility for the programme which uses private funds to develop new National Health Service infrastructure.  Under his leadership, health has become the most successful sector of government development with around 120 hospitals either built or under construction.

In Cambridge, the delegation met with Dr Gareth Goodier, Chief Executive of the Addenbrooke's Hospital and Dr Karen Castille, Director of Nursing and Organisational Development.

In Bristol, the group visited Frenchay and Southmead Hospitals and met with Mrs Sonia Mills, the Chief Executive of Frenchay Hospital.

The introduction of the "4-Hour Target" in the United Kingdom in 2004 was not an easy task. 

Major shifts in health practitioner attitudes as well as extensive planning of the provision of patient care were necessary.  Initially there were doubts expressed by both health practitioners and patients, however patients in the United Kingdom no longer have to wait 12 hours to be seen and staff are now supportive of the target.  Many have indicated that they would be reluctant to return to the old system.

As Members know reports of patients waiting long periods to be seen in WA's emergency departments have been frequent.

Western Australia is the worst state experiencing "Access Block" where patients are forced to wait over eight hours before admission to a ward.  On many occasions, patient care in our major hospitals has been seriously compromised.

The Liberal-National Government is committed to ensuring that patients receive the highest standard of care within a reasonable timeframe, while meeting growing demand for Emergency Department services.

When the delegation returns to Perth, it is my intention to fully analyse the United Kingdom experience to determine if a similar model could be introduced in Western Australian hospitals.  Before this can be achieved, it will be essential that all aspects of patient care together with practitioner needs are given priority and focus.  Any model would need to be designed specifically to suit the needs of the WA community.