Category: Systemic advocacy

State election – let’s look through a health lens

Posted on February 17, 2025

With a state election looming, we have been keeping an eye on the announcements from both major parties to see what they are saying about health.

At Health Consumers’ Council we are keen to see new policies and programs within the health system to help improve the experience of consumers and patient outcomes. While big spending on infrastructure is always welcome and necessary, we are also really interested in ideas that will change and improve the way people interact with the health system every day.

We want to see increased investment in primary care, increased investment in preventative health measures, a continued focus on improving the efficiency and capacity of the hospital system and improved access to health care in the community.

We’ve had a look at what the major parties have said about each of our priority areas and we’ve summarised them for you, so you can decide what is important for you in health when you are going to vote.

Our Priorities

WA Labor Party

WA Liberal Party

Increased investment in primary care

$8.2 million “GP Ask” program allowing GPs to communicate directly with WA Health Specialists on behalf of patients reducing the need for ED visits and referrals

$14 million for women’s health centres

GPs to be able to diagnose and prescribe medicines for ADHD

$26.4 million for GP training incentives

$1 million for GP community residency program

$5 million GP upskilling for ADHD co prescribing

Increased investment in preventative measures

$39.5 million for public access to treatment at Ngala’s residential parents service

$6 million to help develop more community housing

$3.1 million housing first program in Bunbury

$10.4 million expand Homeless Engagement Assessment Response Team

$38.6 million family and domestic violence package includes increasing capacity of refuges in Geraldton, reforms to restraining orders act

$850 000 for Australian Breastfeeding Association breastfeeding education classes, training and local parent groups

$4 million to support development, implementation of mental health and suicide prevention programs in the workplace

$36.3 million universal access to residential parents service at Ngala

$40 million suicide prevention programs

$40 million mental health prevention strategies

$6 million to kids help line

Improved efficiency and capacity of hospital system

$3.3 billion to improve health infrastructure – redevelopments at Bunbury, Geraldton and Peel

$104 million in improvements to Royal Perth Hospital

$100 million for Midland Health campus ED

$36.3 million for WA Virtual Emergency Department

$2.5 million Womens’ reproductive health day procedure centre

Build Womens and Babies hospital in Murdoch

$50 million to expand Ronald McDonald House, $25 million for Cancer Council WA Lodge Accommodation services

$5 million for adult eating disorder services

$275 million to provide 500 additional transitional care beds

$13 million for high residential rehab beds for compulsory drug rehabilitation

$100 million in four years Elective surgery guarantee – everyone will get surgery within clinical timeframes – by getting it at no cost in the private system if cannot be accommodated in public system

$20 000 payment to study and work as a nurse in WA – adding 2000 nurses to the workforce

$33.5 million for eating disorder services

$73.2 million to expand St John Urgent Care clinics

$18 million for 60 000 episodes of care at St John Urgent Care

$10 million training for high demand specialists

Build Womens and Babies hospital in Nedlands

$80 million to rebuild Royal Perth Hospital

Two new wards at Joondalup Health Campus

Improved access to health care in the community

$26 million for youth mental health in the regions including $13.8 million for an Acute Care and Response team in Bunbury and $12.2 million to access virtual infant and child mental health services

$9.9 million to transition a Kalgoorlie mental health program into a public subacute mental health facility

$30.4 million health outcomes in Kimberley, including new clinic at Broome Regional Aboriginal Medical Service, a Derby Wellness centre with focus on drug and alcohol services, mental health support FDV services and aged care, detox facility in Broome and double renal dialysis capacity at Fitzroy Crossing.

$12.4 million for a rehab centre in the Great Southern

$16.3 million regional paramedics in Peel and South West

PATS fuel rebate increase from 26c per km to 40c per km and expanded number of eligible services for PATS – physio, speech, OT and dental

$140 million aged care including loans for providers to deliver more beds and a program of Integrated Older Adult Care Hubs, Dementia Action Plan and an Aged Care Facility for Aboriginal people in Queens Park.

$7.5 million for improved RFDS Services in the MidWest

$21 million radiation oncology services in Geraldton

$2 million renal dialysis unit in Geraldton

$24 million Chemo in the Home program

$19 million for five regional mobile dental units

PATS increase to .40c per km (same) nightly allowance $150 per night

$10 million on career paramedics in regions

$25 million radiation oncology in Geraldton

Build Tom Price Hospital

$5.5 million for outpatient and ambulatory care services at Kalamunda hospital

$3 million to expand dispensing of hospital only medications to community pharmacies

$60 million for free post discharge GP visits

Find out more:
WA Labour
WA Liberals
WA Greens
WA Nationals

They vote for you

Bronwyn Ife | Systemic Advocacy and Engagement Lead
Published on Feb 17, 2025 | For media enquiries: 0488 701 839

Health consumers and two elections…

Posted on February 10, 2025

Clare Mullen speaking with HCCWA members

Why the 2025 elections matter for healthcare policy, and how patients and consumers can influence change.

The Impact of the WA State Election 2025 and Federal Election on Healthcare

You might have noticed we’re in the run up to two elections. The WA State election on Saturday 8 March 2025, and the Federal election at some point in the next few months. Not only that, but the Productivity Commission and Cleanbill both published reports this month about healthcare in Australia pointing out what is very clear to anyone trying to access healthcare – there’s a lot of pressure on the hospital system and good luck trying to find a bulk billed GP appointment. And so the airwaves are alive with announcements and soundbites calling for action. And many of these will talk about the need for more hospital beds and hospital infrastructure.

Policy Priorities for Better Healthcare in WA and Australia

Here’s what we’d like to see from a patient and health consumer point of view:

increased investment in primary care across the state
- the Cleanbill report found there are fewer than 40 GP clinics in WA where someone who’s not on a concession card can be bulk-billed – with the cost of living pressures being experienced by many people we know this means people are thinking twice about accessing care
- the increase in urgent cares is great, but it’s not the same as good primary care
urgently increase the investment in preventative health measures
- the Sustainable Health Review recommended an increase in preventative health spending to 5% of the health budget – we believe this should be in addition to the current budget – not require shifting expenditure from somewhere else
- see this article about how “We don’t have a health problem, we have a village problem” for the sort of radical shift in thinking that is required
a continued focus on improving the efficiency and capacity of the hospital system
- while retaining a focus on delivering compassionate person-centred care
improving access to healthcare in the community
- one of the reasons for long waits in the Emergency Department is because there are people in hospital who are well enough to leave hospital, but not well enough to return home – we need more access to more community-based options, for example people looking for residential aged care
- one study into a Compassionate Communities Community Connector model in WA’s South West found that the model led to a 63% reduction in hospital admissions – imagine if we were able to roll this kind of approach out across the state?

You can hear me talking about some of these points with Nadia Mitsopoulis on ABC Perth Mornings this month at this link. The whole item is from 4m45s and our comment is from 16m25s until 20m45s.

Long-term solutions: addressing the root causes of healthcare challenges

Change is not a quick fix

Despite what you’ll read in the coming weeks, there are no quick fixes to the current pressures. WA is not alone in facing these pressures on our healthcare system. And these pressures haven’t come out of nowhere.

The very powerful commercial interests of the food, alcohol and entertainment sectors have created a world over the last five decades where we are increasingly and strongly nudged towards unhealthy behaviours such as eating high levels of ultra-processed foods; spending increased time on electronic devices, including social media; and prioritising paid work over social and community connections.

Add to this the recovery from the turbulence of the COVID pandemic, and healthcare systems around the world are facing similar challenges.

The role of vested interests in shaping healthcare policies

Patient and consumer voices can cut through vested interests

There are many vested interests in the healthcare space. Powerful clinical groups and commercial interests are able to spend significant sums of money putting forward the interests of their members and stakeholders.

And in Australia, we have three levels of government who all have a role in health and healthcare. And unfortunately, getting different parts of government to work well together has never been easy.

Why consumer advocacy is essential for better healthcare policies

Only consumer advocates have the interests of patients, consumers and the community as their sole focus

It has never been more important that there are strong, informed, and connected patient, consumer and community voices in every discussion informing decisions about health and healthcare.

By Clare Mullen, Executive Director

Women’s and Newborns Hospital relocation – HCC advocating for consumer voices

Posted on August 14, 2023

In April 2023 the WA Minister for Health made a surprise announcement that the new Women’s and Newborns Hospital – previously planned to be on the QEII site alongside Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital – would be located in Murdoch, alongside the Fiona Stanley Hospital.

Despite being contacted at that time by a senior WA Health member to reassure us that there would be significant consumer involvement as this work unfolded, we then didn’t hear anything until we followed up in June. At that time it became clear that there had been no consumer input to this new decision. And none since the announcement in April.

We’ve since been in discussion with a group of consumers who have been very involved in early consultations who raised a number of concerns. We have raised these with the Minister for Health and senior WA Health staff. We also held a consumer event on 20 July to gather more views and raise people’s awareness of what we know.

This is the presentation we went through at that event

230720 HCC Women’s Hospital update

We had a rich discussion at that event which has been fed back to the project team:

There are significant concerns about the apparent complete absence of any consumer involvement or input to inform this decision – it’s very disappointing that clinical engagement is well underway but there has been no engagement with consumers so far.
- People were also concerned that it has not been possible to find out what clinical input there was to inform this decision. The conclusion being reached is that there wasn’t any. This is very concerning to consumers as it doesn’t give confidence that clinical concerns.
Significant concerns that the proposed position will mean significant infrastructure reforms to enable the gold standard of tri-location of maternity, neonates and adult services.
- The options raised at the meeting included moving PCH to the FSH campus and upgrading OPH to ensure it has the additional clinical services necessary for high quality maternity care (and avoiding repeating the issues at KEMH being an isolated maternity hospital)
- It wasn’t clear in our discussion how this work would be less disruptive than the original plan
The lack of consumer involvement in decisions about priorities for services to be located at QEII
- We heard that there are plans to site a new UWA Medical School on the QEII campus as well as the planned Comprehensive Cancer Centre.
- There was a sense that while these are obviously important, the rationale for prioritising their position on the QEII campus over enable tri-location of services was not clear.
The lack of information about the plan for the 40 or so babies needing surgery within hours of birth.
Concerns about the risks to infant and parent mental health – and the associated long-term impact of early childhood trauma – for families needing access to neonate surgery

Separate to the meeting, we also received one consumer comment that they were supportive of improved access by public transport to the FSH site, particularly for people with disabilities.

Overall, there was general recognition that there is no immediately obvious “easy” solution to this issue. There was considerable frustration that it hasn’t been considered important to have consumer perspectives involved to help to identify the issues and be part of the solution generation.

The hospital project team are keen to seek broad consumer input. HCC will be facilitating a small group discussion in early September to explore what real engagement with consumers going forward could look like. Later there will be another discussion with consumers to discuss the implications of the planned move to this new location.

If you would like to be kept informed about this work, contact Jasmina Brankovich, HCC’s Policy and Systemic Advocacy Lead at jasmina.brankovich@hconc.org.au

Clare Mullen, August 2023

Advocating for consumer perspectives through committees