The health minister has said he is “concerned” about the Mandurah Mail article that revealed a Halls Head woman was sent home from Peel Health Campus, only to later have a heart attack.
Health Minister Roger Cook told the Mandurah Mail he wished Mandii Tennick a fast recovery.
“I am concerned about the recent incident at Peel Health Campus and I wish the patient a speedy recovery,” he said.
“I understand that the Peel Health Campus is talking to the patient to discuss this incident so it can be reviewed thoroughly.”
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Mr Cook said he would be visiting the Peel Health Campus with his cabinet colleague and Mandurah MP David Templeman in the near future.
He said the Sustainable Health review, that was commissioned last year, would identify if funding and resources had been allocated adequately across the WA health system.
The final report would be delivered to Government in November this year, he said.
“This will give us an up-to-date picture to work on rather than build on outdated information,” Mr Cook said.
Dawesville MP Zak Kirkup, who has been vocal about the need for an expansion and upgrade at the Peel Health Campus, said he had raised the issue in parliament “immeasurable times”.
“I’ve written to the Health Minister and I’ve even asked him to visit the emergency department of Peel with me on a Saturday night,” Mr Kirkup said.
“All I keep getting told is to wait...wait for a review..wait for a report...no investment until 2021.”
“To be frank, the health of Mandurah and broader Peel community cannot keep being held hostage by the minister for health's political delaying tactics.”
Mr Kirkup said everybody was aware that the Peel Health Campus needs to be expanded and upgraded.
He added that the clinical and non-clinical staff do a great job, but the hospital was now in “desperate shape”.
Mandurah MP David Templeman said he pinned a lot of importance on the results of the Sustainable Health Review.
“We need a comprehensive health plan that maps out the services we need now and in to the future, that represents population growth,” he said.
Mr Templeman said the review would analyse the role of the Peel Health Campus and its “expansion requirements”.
Blame was put on the previous Liberal government, with Mr Templeman saying the health minister had “eight or nine years to do something” for health in the Peel region.
He also said the Murray District Hospital could potentially have a big role to play in the future.
Mandurah Mail received a huge community response following the recent article, with the Facebook story receiving 327 reactions, 92 shares and a reach of 29,985 thousand people.