Minister opens 332 extra hospital beds to meet winter demand

25/3/04
Health Minister Jim McGinty today unveiled a $20million plan to open 332 extra hospital beds across the metropolitan area during the forthcoming winter/spring period when demand for emergency services is at its highest.

"During the last few winters, we have seen high levels of demand at emergency departments," Mr McGinty said.
The lack of beds for patients requiring admission has resulted in:

• bed block at tertiary hospitals;
• ambulance bypass and ramping;
• long waiting times; and
• patients sometimes being left on trolleys in emergency departments.

"These outcomes are completely unacceptable," the Minister said.
"The extra beds will help cut waiting times, improve patient care and reduce ambulance diversion during peak winter periods.
"The extra beds will reduce bottlenecks where patients cannot be transferred from emergency departments to wards due to lack of beds.
"During the past nine months, I have spoken extensively with staff working at the coalface.
"Doctors and nurses who work in emergency departments have told me the solution to this problem is 'beds, beds, beds'.
"The dedicated emergency department staff have the capacity to handle all patients who present to EDs - provided they can move treated patients out of the emergency departments and free-up these beds for their next patients."
The $20million strategy will see the opening of 200 extra beds in 2004, in addition to the 132 beds temporarily opened last winter.
"Emergency department doctors have told me this number of beds should enable them to cope during the high-pressure May/September period," Mr McGinty said.
An innovative 20-bed, rehabilitation-in-the-home program, which will allow early discharge from hospital and intensive treatment within a patient's home, also forms part of the strategy.
The Minister said there had been continued growth in hospital admissions from emergency departments during the past three years with peak demand during winter.

"Factors including increased population and an ageing demographic have led to a 3.2 per cent annual growth in the number of people seeking treatment in emergency departments," he said.
In 2002-03, more than 300,000 people presented at emergency departments across the metropolitan area - almost 30 per cent of these people were admitted to hospital.

Many of the new beds will open in the State's general hospitals - to redirect care from tertiary hospitals and allow patients to be treated closer to home.
Mr McGinty said the investment in extra beds highlighted the Gallop Government's commitment to deal with the real problems facing the State's public hospitals.
The beds will open progressively between March and June and be located at:
North Metropolitan Area Health Service

• Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital - 42 beds;
• Osborne Park Hospital - 26 beds; and
• the Department of Health will also purchase 38 beds from the Joondalup Health Campus, including four critical care beds, four observation beds and 30 inpatient beds.

South Metropolitan Area Health Service

• Fremantle Hospital - 29 beds;
• Armadale Kelmscott Memorial Hospital - 24 beds;
• Rockingham/Kwinana District Hospital - five beds; and
• an additional 10 beds will be leased from private hospital operators and made available throughout the South Metropolitan Area Health Service.

East Metropolitan Area Health Service

• Royal Perth Hospital - 51 beds;
• RPH Shenton Park Campus - 21 beds;
• Bentley Hospital - 40 beds;
• Swan District Hospital - 20 beds; and
• Kalamunda District Community Hospital - six beds.

The 20 beds used in the rehabilitation-in-the-home program will be located across the metropolitan area.
Minister's office: 9220 5000