‘Robbing Peter to pay Paul’: how one State Govt is creating aged care beds
The WA Government’s Winter Strategy will see the number of women’s mental health beds at the Cockburn Health facility reduced by one-third as they are diverted to accommodate older hospital patients.
A spokesperson for WA Health told The Weekly SOURCE that Cockburn Health will repurpose a 25-bed ward to deliver women-only care under the Government’s Care Awaiting Placement (CAP) program, also known as Time to Think.
The change will provide an additional 25 beds for older female hospital patients well enough to be discharged but waiting on permanent aged care arrangements, freeing up hospital beds for patients requiring acute care.
The spokesperson said Cockburn Health’s 50 remaining beds will continue to deliver women-only mental health services.
“Specialist treatment will continue to be delivered across two dedicated wards, assisting female patients experiencing mental illness, eating disorders and alcohol and drug issues,” they said.
However, a letter leaked to the media reveals significant concern among senior clinicians and staff within the South Metropolitan Health Service, with 46 signatories formally writing to WA Health Director General Shirley Bowen.
Drafted the day before the Government released its Winter Strategy, the letter raises concerns about the removal of a substantial number of women’s mental health beds from the system.
WA Shadow Health Minister Libby Mettam said the leaked letter shows the WA Government was “robbing Peter to pay Paul”.
“In a state as wealthy as Western Australia, we should not be pushing one group of vulnerable patients aside to treat another,” she said.
In Parliament, Health Minister Meredith Hammat said mental health services would not close.
“We make no apologies that our focus is on opening every bed that’s available,” she said.
The WA Government launched its $140 million Winter Strategy in February in a bid to prevent a repeat of last year’s worst-ever flu season.
The strategy included investing an additional $24.2 million to increase the number of Time to Think beds, as well as $20.3 million to pilot a Transition Care Program at Home, and $1.1 million to employ Hospital in the Home coordinators for residential aged care.
The State Government also promised free respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccinations in residential aged care.
