WA Oppositions Calls On Government To Own Responsibility Over St John Ambulance Issues

Western Australia’s Opposition Alliance has called on the McGowan Government to accept responsibility for the issues affecting the delivery of St John WA ambulance.

The opposition’s statement comes after the State Government announced yesterday it would implement a range of performance measures for St John WA ambulance.

Stay up-to-date on the latest news with The Western Australia Briefing - keeping you in the loop with news as it hits:

Shadow Health Minister Libby Mettam said that while the response targets performance, staffing levels and culture of St John, it raised questions of what the State Government was doing to address the issues across the hole health system.

“There remains outstanding and longstanding concerns regarding failings which lie at the feet of the McGowan Government,” she said.

“Ramping started seriously escalating in 2017, not long after the government was elected, and this has simply been an exercise in deflecting attention away from their failings within the hospital system.

“You cannot downplay the significance of bed block and a lack of capacity across our health system when it comes to the performance of St John, given priority response times are directly impacted by the record hours our ambulances are waiting outside of hospitals.”

Mettam said the recommendation to introduce minimum response times in regional WA to ensure volunteers were always paired with a paramedic would mean a change to the scope in the St John’s regional contract.

She welcomed efforts to better invest in the contract.

“Whether they can actually deliver it will remain to be seen,” she said.

“St John WA needs to step up but quite clearly the McGowan Government needs to step up as well and stop using St John as a scapegoat for all of the issues in the health system.

“The government has a poor track record of actually being able to implement and deliver on its policies so whether these measures will work, will remain to be seen.”

A comprehensive plan was made in response to the parliamentary inquiry into ambulance services in WA made a total of 48 recommendations by a Labor-dominated inquiry.

Improving transparency and governance, delivering new models of employment, creating alternate care pathways, and complying with the Australian Institute of Company Directors principles for not-for-profits are just some of the points the ambulance service would have to comply with.

The State Government hopes to renew its contract with St John, seeking a five-year contract, but would have a clause where a review would be conducted in 2025. 

Get the latest breaking news from SCA newsrooms around Australia. Short, simple and everything you need to know.