Health Minister Roger Cook blasted over optimism in WA’s health system after death of Aishwarya Aswath

Health Minister Roger Cook has been blasted for his optimism in WA’s public health system in the midst of an investigation into the death of seven-year-old girl at Perth Children’s Hospital. Mr Cook today rebuffed suggestions that the health system was in crisis following Aishwarya Aswath’s tragic death saying: “We’re in an exciting phase in our health system’s evolution”. The bosses of WA’s doctors and nurses unions blasted the Minister’s comments as “inappropriate” and said healthcare workers were distressed and upset by the conditions they have to work under in public hospitals. “My members feel like they’re being gaslighted because they see the Minister and the DG (Health Department Director-General) standing up and expressing some surprise that there’s been this sudden increase in activity in a system where they say safety is our top priority. “And the Minister even says this is an exciting time to be the Health Minister. Well, I can tell you it’s not an exciting time to be an Emergency Department doctor or nurse.” Australian Nursing Federation secretary Mark Olson said it was an “inappropriate” use of words. “I wouldn’t be saying to our nurses, ‘hey we’re living in exciting times in our hospitals’,” he said. Mr Olson sent a 10-point plan proposal devised by nurses and the ANF to address problems in PCH’s Emergency Department to Mr Cook’s office today. It includes the implementation of a staff allocation of one nurse — not including the triage nurse — for every three patients in ED, which he said would equate to between three and five more nurses per shift. Mr Olson said the plan also included a four-week time limit from applying to a vacancy to a nurse working their first shift. He said it can take up to six months for nurses who apply for position in WA Health to start their new position — prompting many to give up and find work elsewhere. A Code Yellow alert was called at Fiona Stanley Hospital today because there was a lack of beds available to transfer patients from the Emergency Department to a ward. The hospital’s intensive care unit was on “Bed State Black”, which Dr Miller said meant that the ICU could not take any more patients.