Bunbury Regional Hospital records second highest monthly ambulance ramping figure at 112 hours

Patients in need of emergency care at WA’s busiest regional hospital were left waiting outside with paramedics for more than 112 hours last month, marking its second-highest ambulance ramping figures on record. The elevated Bunbury Regional Hospital wait times come as the State reported its worst-ever ambulance ramping figures for the month of November, in what has been WA’s worst year for ramping. So far this year, paramedics have been parked outside WA emergency departments for 5700 hours waiting to transfer emergency patients into the care of hospital staff. The State Government is laying blame for Bunbury’s high ramping figures on a spike in COVID cases in the South West and high numbers of health workers being furloughed. But the Opposition believes the ramping highlights a health system in crisis. WA Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson hit back at the figures when she was in Bunbury on Friday to announce additional funding towards the hospital’s redevelopment. Ms Sanderson announced an additional $77.8 million funding towards the hospital’s redevelopment with the new funding set to effectively double the hospital’s maternity, birthing and neonatal services, as well as allow women with high-risk pregnancies and births to access care closer to home. The funding is in addition to the 30-bed modular ward opened at the facility in September as part of a $152 million investment in ready-to-fit units at four public health campuses across WA — beds Ms Sanderson said had already helped with ramping issues. “The beds that are coming online are making a difference, they are helping,” she said. “I think if we look at the last 12 months, and what our hospital system — and particularly our regional hospitals have dealt with — it’s quite extraordinary. “The South West has been hit particularly hard with COVID, with all of the travel, visitors and tourism.” Ms Sanderson said COVID cases, coupled with high levels of furlough across the system was impacting how quickly patients could be processed. “But certainly building bed capacity is one part of how we manage that, and we’re doing that by putting the new beds on. “We’ve invested enormously in transition aged care placements, supporting people who are long-stay patients who need to be looked after by the NDIS, and supporting them into more appropriate accommodation. “The data shows that our hospitals are the best performing in the country,” she said. “What we have dealt with and what our staff have dealt with has been extraordinary.” But Shadow Health Minister Libby Mettam said Bunbury’s ramping figures highlighted a struggling health system caught in an ongoing crisis. “Patients were ramped in the back of ambulances for 112.7 hours last month which is only marginally lower than June of this year which hit a record of 118.4 hours,” she said. “Our health workers have continued to be asked to do more with less and these figures for Bunbury Regional Hospital point to a hardworking workforce that has been let down by the McGowan government.” Ms Mettam believes ramping was not an issue before the McGowan Government came into power in 2017. “These figures emphasise the extraordinary pressure our hard-working nurses, midwives and health workers are feeling in an under resourced hospital system,” she said. But Ms Sanderson disagreed when asked whether the facility was under resourced and understaffed. “I think Bunbury Hospital does a fantastic job,” she said. “What we know is the population is growing, demand is growing, and that’s why we’re investing $277 million to ensure it’s fit for future purpose.”