Waiting times at Geraldton Health Campus not up to standard, according to AMA

Waiting times at Geraldton Health Campus for many emergency department visits and elective surgeries are below standard, according to recent data.

The findings from the Australian Medical Association (AMA) and Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) show 52 per cent of people requiring emergency treatment in the Geraldton ED were seen to in the recommended time of within 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, 45 per cent requiring urgent care and 53 per cent requiring semi-urgent care received treatment within their recommended times.

The urgent care benchmark is for 95 per cent of patients to be seen within the recommended time.

Only 78 per cent requiring semi-urgent elective surgery received their treatment within recommended time.

The results did show some positive times, with 100 per cent of those requiring resuscitation treated immediately, and 87 per cent of those requiring urgent elective surgery receiving treatment within 30 days.

The data was recorded during 2021-22 and was released in December 2022

Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson said the State Government dedicated $378 million in additional funds to improving emergency care access in its last two budgets, and that some difficulties were to be expected during the Omicron outbreak.

“Unlike other jurisdictions that faced lengthy cancellations, elective surgery was only briefly paused here during the height of the Omicron outbreak, despite high levels of staff furlough, which is testament to the good management of our hospitals,” she said.

A spokesperson for the WA Country Health Service said staff had handled the pressures of the pandemic well, and the upcoming redevelopment of Geraldton Health Campus will help meet standards by expanding facilities including the emergency department.

“Across regional WA, our staff continue to perform extraordinary work despite the well-documented workforce pressures of the past two years,” they said.

Shadow regional health minister Martin Aldridge said it is well known that Geraldton’s hospital was under pressure.

Although he said he was pleased to see progress continue on the hospital’s redevelopment, he said he was concerned Geraldton Health Campus hasn’t been designed for the level of patients it will face when it is completed, as it was initially meant to finish in 2024-2025 but is now not likely to be completed until mid-2026 due to delays.

Mr Aldridge also raised the issue of the lack of an urgent care clinic in Geraldton. Labor promised one in 2017 but Mr Aldridge said progress has not followed.

“They have done absolutely nothing to progress that election commitment and I actually think they have walked away from it,” he said.

Ms Sanderson did not respond to a question asking if an urgent care clinic in Geraldton was still being considered.