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The difference is Freez is that this government has ripped out more than $200m since coming into office and now have to tip it back in plus some to get the health system anywhere near ready to cope with hospitalised Covid infections. We can't control what happens worldwide but we, and I say the generic we but mean this government, can control what happens here and now, and they've failed miserably. McClown and Cooked has had 2 years to get the health system ready for Covid after we went into lockdowns at the start to supposedly flatten the infection curve but we are worse off today then 2 years ago as evidenced by record ramping, daily code yellows, cancel elective surgeries, net losses of health professional staff and so on. This situation my friend can be fairly and squarely laid at the feet of McClown and Cooked.

I realise it probably doesn't matter. Be interesting to see whom is going to be placed in the health portfolio, now that old roger is gone. Though it's so messed up, wouldn't make much difference! 

westaussieguy wrote:

I realise it probably doesn't matter. Be interesting to see whom is going to be placed in the health portfolio, now that old roger is gone. Though it's so messed up, wouldn't make much difference! 

Amber-Jade Sanderson gets the health portfolio, let’s see if a woman can show more empathy and make health top priority. Cooked is just that, cooked. Been demoted, the minister for nothing, State Development? Whatever that is. Can’t wait to see Cook the salesman selling Tourism.

Gotta say, I nearly choked with laughter when I heard the news about Cook’s “removal”.  Mark Mac praised him for the wonderful job he has done over the last couple of years….then promptly made him boss of the tourists.

Totally agree re the Health fark up BC.....but that's a given with every Government.....a lot of talk very little walk sadly......but what's new.....been that way since I have been in the profession since the late eighties. It won't change just because a female is in the charge, I have come across many a senior management in Nursing full of the feminine touch.....most are hard cases, who went into management because they either hated the coal face  working environment(shift work, nights etc) were useless at it and possessed little or no common sense or social skills at all. So let's get as far away from the patient as possible, carry a clip board, attend many an aimless pointless meeting discussing the same old same old.

As for the ramping numbers, code yellows, cancelling of elective surgeries, staff jumping ship etc.....the first two are purely COVID related....the many worried well seeking medical attention because of what they have read or seen re COVID. Anxiety takes over, GP's are slammed impossible to get into, thus ED is the next place....and fark the wait, I 'll come by ambulance because I will jump queue....hmmmm sorry mate, no you won't, you still get triaged and if not urgently unwell join the farking queue. I would love to see how many of those ramping numbers actually high acuity triage 2 and 3s. Code yellow is merely supply not meeting demand.....not enough coal face folk to attend to the demand......can only juggle so many balls at once.

As for cancelling elective surgeries...common occurrence as the consultants fill their own pockets with their private work.....consultants can do as they please, management won't question them.....any private elective surgeries getting cancelled?..... I don't think so.......As for staff leaving......COVID was the final push of many over worked, fatigue ridden, coal face workers who have had enough of the selfish, verbally and physically rude actions of the general public when seeking medical attention and bullying by management to take one for the team and stay on longer, pick up another shift etc.....no support from management, apparently folk when stressed are allowed to be verbally and physically abusive.....health staff should know that, suck it up and just turn a blind eye and be grateful they have a job......can only take so much, so they choose another job.....good on them I say.....the whole system is a mess.....has been for well before COVID......

I've read and re-read your last freez and can safely say you're wrong on all counts. Firstly, there's no Covid in WA and ED presentations are only marginally up on 2 years ago so there's no excuse for ramping and code yellows. It all comes down to this government closing wards, slashing health department budgets and not making casual health staff permanent which sees the record ramping and code yellows. Cook in opposition 5 years ago called a 1000 hours per month of ramping a tipping point and a disgrace...fast forward and it's currently 5 times that. Cook cancelled elective surgeries in public hospitals more than once over the last two years resulting in around 30,000 patients currently waiting for procedures. You can't blame that on consultant surgeons. Staff are leaving not because of Covid...repeat...we don't have any. It's because they're overworked and not supported by this government. Cook spruiked that he recruited 1200 nurses over the last 12 months but failed to mention 1800 left...so what does that say about the current culture in the health system?

BC wrote:

I've read and re-read your last freez and can safely say you're wrong on all counts. Firstly, there's no Covid in WA and ED presentations are only marginally up on 2 years ago so there's no excuse for ramping and code yellows. It all comes down to this government closing wards, slashing health department budgets and not making casual health staff permanent which sees the record ramping and code yellows. Cook in opposition 5 years ago called a 1000 hours per month of ramping a tipping point and a disgrace...fast forward and it's currently 5 times that. Cook cancelled elective surgeries in public hospitals more than once over the last two years resulting in around 30,000 patients currently waiting for procedures. You can't blame that on consultant surgeons. Staff are leaving not because of Covid...repeat...we don't have any. It's because they're overworked and not supported by this government. Cook spruiked that he recruited 1200 nurses over the last 12 months but failed to mention 1800 left...so what does that say about the current culture in the health system?

Very well put BC.

BC....so when you say there is no COVID in WA are you saying the nurses/doctors aren't following world wide COVID precautions( donning/doffing PPE etc) when seeing pts presenting with COVID symptoms?....Are you saying Mental health issues / anxiety numbers aren't on the increase in WA due to COVID....because as you repeated.... there is no COVID in WA.....so why take precautions. Find that very interesting indeed......In my ED, the time consuming part of COVID ,is the endless donning/doffing of PPE to assess and treat kids / adults presenting with  every day coughs(croup, URTI), shortness of breath(asthma, COPD, emphysema}, sore throats (tonsillitis), runny noses(hayfever, sinusitis) etc....usually these presentations are 10 min jobs, in and out with a prescription etc......not now ,they take twice as long and due to the need for isolation precautions, only a certain number are allowed in at one time due to cubicles available......the paper work generated for swabbing adds extra time on top.....thus the flow of ED is slowed down 10 fold......thus the long wait times and in plenty of cases the wait for ambulances to bring patients in.....thus they wait(ramp) outside till there is space.....especially over winter when COVID related symptoms are rife.....how many of these ramps are respiratory related presentations....how many are even ED related presentations?...just the worried well seeking a pat on the head they haven't got COVID.....or seeking some help as COVID has made then super stressed.

Due to COVID the amount of people presenting with 24 hour runny noses, sore throats , simple fevers has sky rocketed due to folk being worried about COVID,,,,,also the number of patients presenting to ED with anxiety issues, self harm, depression, over doses has increased due to the effects of COVID.....thus slowing down the flow of patients in ED......so whilst the ED numbers as you say might not be increasing, the time seeing these patients has slowed down considerably.....its the processes related to COVID that is wearing staff down, thus resulting them leaving as there is no end in sight.....do you think when the borders open that the hospital staff are simply going to stop taking these time consuming precautions? No I don't think so.......as for Code yellow....that's been around for decades mate, back in my RPH days every week there was a Code yellow, just wasn't called that, just called the shit hitting the fan again due to under staffing.....but also where is the public health sector getting all those staff to do community swabbing and vaccinating?....from the hospitals no doubt, thus staff being seconded resulting in wards closing and surgeries getting cancelled....but I ask again how many private elective surgeries are getting cancelled?....The consultants know which side of their bread needs buttering and it ain't from doing public sector elective surgeries.

Of those 1800 staff leaving you mentioned, how many were retirement age or very near it and the strain it brings to there every day working?.....for years many nurses I worked with were happy to go casual after they retired to help out......now they are choosing not too due to COVID........whilst I don't agree with what McGowan and Cook have done and the decisions they have made, the  Public Health sector is a  and always be non profit area, a huge money drain, thus that.s why this govt and previous govts have taken the this area for granted, relying on the good will of it's health professionals to simply carry on and carry the load regardless......COVID has simply snuffed out this good will........but hey I could be wrong as WA doesn't have COVID, only the rest of Australia and the rest of the world....

Cooked is finally gone, took McClown about a year to square away the factions before he could get rid of him without any internal rumblings, he should of gone ages ago, actually he shouldn't even be there, never managed a single thing in his life, no idea who the new women is but good luck to her.

Law and Order doesnt seem to be travelling to well either, there seem to be constant problems in the City, I see Yagan Square is now renamed Fight Square, if you have walked through there even during the day and been presented with an end to end line of drunks, slobs, arguing, fighting and abusing passers by while swigging on a bottle of plonk and chucking rubbish all over the place you will get the picture.
Pappalia on the news saying he would plonk a police van in there for 4 weeks, band aid for mine, just not enough yobbos being locked up and taken to sober up like the old days.

He has only replaced a union person with another union person and from the strong United Voice.
McGowan can’t stand the unions so puts the biggest internal threat to his leadership in the hardest portfolio, he’s no dummy