The College also congratulates incoming Minister for Health Meredith Hammat and looks forward to working with the Minister to ensure safer Emergency Departments (EDs) for all staff, patients and their families.
In addition, ACEM acknowledges that the Cook Government has split responsibility for health across a number of additional portfolios and is keen to work with Minister for Aged Care and Seniors Simone McGurk, Minister for Health Infrastructure John Carey, and Minister for Preventative Health Sabine Winton. Health system capacity, preventative health and access block are major issues affecting EDs in WA and having ministers tasked specifically with addressing these issues acknowledges the importance and complexity of the health portfolio and creates more opportunities to make positive change.
The College would also like to thank the previous Minister for Health (and new Minister for Energy and Decarbonisation) Amber-Jade Sanderson for her hard work in addressing the issues affecting hospital EDs, for creating a policy environment which recognised the vital role that EDs play in the health system and for her willingness to involve clinicians in this work.
In the lead-up to the election, ACEM released four solutions to help ease the crisis affecting WA’s EDs. The College welcomed commitments from Labor in relation to increasing inpatient capacity across the system, upgrading hospital EDs, and reducing pressure on EDs via more support for mental health care and aged care.
The College now looks forward to working with the above-mentioned Ministers to implement these commitments as well as focusing on other issues affecting EDs that received little attention during the election campaign.
These include taking decisive action to reduce increased levels of health workforce shortages, with this worrying trend only set to worsen in coming years. ACEM stands ready to work with the government to address the lack of specialist training opportunities currently crippling WA’s regional and rural EDs and calls on the government’s new region-specific ministers to assist in addressing this challenge.
Another issue requiring swift government action is the rising levels of violence and aggression being experienced in EDs. ACEM’s recently released Breaking Point: An Urgent Call to Action on ED Safety report revealed the unacceptable levels of violence and aggression faced every day by Australia’s emergency medicine workforce, and provides recommendations for reducing this significant problem.
ACEM encourages the new government to engage with WA’s emergency clinicians on strategies for implementing these fixes, and other solutions that can improve the delivery of safer, better and faster emergency care for West Australians.
ACEM WA Faculty Chair Dr Vanessa Clayden encouraged Premier Cook to continue his government’s focus on implementing solutions for the issues affecting WA’s EDs.
“We congratulate Roger Cook and the Labor Party on forming a new government and look forward to continuing to advocate for measures that will improve healthcare for all West Australians,” Dr Clayden said.
“Given the challenges confronting the healthcare system, WA’s emergency clinicians are pleased to see that health is high on the government’s agenda.
“We invite the new government to continue working with WA’s emergency clinicians on implementing solutions to help relieve pressures on staff and patients by addressing workforce shortages and adding capacity to the health system to improve wait times and outcomes for our patients.”
Background:
ACEM is the peak body for emergency medicine in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, responsible for training emergency physicians and advancement of professional standards. www.acem.org.au
Media Contact:
Nick Buchan, Media Advisor, nick.buchan@acem.org.au +61 481 918 488
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