Basil Zempilas, the newly-elected opposition leader in Western Australia, has led the most vitriolic of attacks on the state government. He slams their management of the ongoing public health emergency. At the press conference, Zempilas was decked out in a suit and tie. He pushed the government to act with great immediacy and on a national scale to do what’s necessary to address our failing healthcare system. His remarks are notable given the serious public discontent over ramping of ambulances and the performance of health care services in Ontario.
Zempilas has been critical of the government’s decision to spread the health portfolio across three ministers, arguing it weakens accountability. This, he claimed, is the brilliance of this strategy – it lets public health officials escape accountability for anything bad that happens. “By spreading it around, what they’ve done is spread the blame,” Zempilas stated.
He pointed out one worrisome trend where with Health Minister Meredith Hammat comes off as trying to pass the buck to her peers. “When there’s a specific issue, often Meredith Hammat’s first reaction is to say, ‘Oh no, that’s not me, that’s one of the other health ministers — you’ll have to go and speak to them.’ That’s not good enough,” he asserted.
The Government’s Response
In response to Zempilas’ criticisms, Roger Cook, the Health Minister, acknowledged the difficulties facing the healthcare system but expressed confidence in his government’s plans. “It’s tough, we know it’s tough, but my government is up for the challenge,” Cook remarked.
According to a government spokesperson, Hammat is at the forefront of improving the health system. They are building new hospitals and expanding the health workforce. They claimed changes are being made to address pressing concerns such as the ambulance ramping. “Together, under the leadership of Health Minister Meredith Hammat, we’re strengthening our health system by investing in hospitals and increasing our health workforce,” the spokesperson stated.
Zempilas’ comments align with concerns raised by healthcare professionals about the systemic issues plaguing Western Australia’s health services. Dr. Kyle Hoath welcomed the cautious optimism about possible improvements but cautioned against the dangers of moving the goalposts between ministers. “We’re very very cautiously optimistic, but if we start to see that there’s deliberate handballing to prevent taking responsibility for key issues, then I’d be having a very different conversation,” he noted.
Complexity of Health Management
The scale and complexity of the task of administering health services across Western Australia has been widely recognized by observers from many different external bodies. Terry Slevin, well-respected leader in public health conversation and advocacy here, explained that Cook has deep experience with the health portfolio. “Roger Cook knows the extraordinary complexity of the health portfolio. He’s had to wrestle with it,” Slevin observed.
Slevin later stressed the need to take the health portfolio and divide it into smaller bites. This method provides opportunities for targeted investments in need areas such as mental health and infrastructure. “So having broken it up into more chewable chunks means all of those people can focus on each of those big challenges — mental health, infrastructure, prevention, research — and they can give it greater attention and engage with the people who have the best ideas,” he explained.
Like Slevin, many local officials want to see more from the state government. They can’t kick tough child-safety measures like addressing ambulance ramping and service delays down the road. “If we’re going to deal with the ambulance ramping, the queues for clinical services in the future, the time to start is now with regard to dialling that demand down,” he stated.
Community Perspectives and Future Directions
As the conversation around the future of health governance unfolds, the voice of the community remains key to developing impactful solutions. Clare Mullen of the Citizens Assembly emphasized the need to know citizens’ needs to fill gaps in health services. “The state government has a number of levers and they are important, but I think that what we need to see is our governance mechanisms joining up to actually understand the community’s perspective on the ground,” Mullen remarked.
Now, government officials, healthcare professionals and even leaders of the opposition are joining the conversation. They all share a passionate urgency to help transform the healthcare system in Western Australia. Stakeholders are continuing to operate in a very confusing transitional environment. Together, they hope to identify more effective solutions that will better the health services provided to all of Monongalia County’s residents.
