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Vital to restore confidence in Fiona Stanley Hospital

Vital to restore confidence in Fiona Stanley Hospital

It was unrealistic to expect that the opening of a new health facility on the huge scale of Fiona Stanley Hospital would be trouble-free. There were always going to be teething problems.

A lot of the complaints about the $2 billion flagship hospital would appear to fall into the category of teething problems rather than systemic failures.

However, the move yesterday by the State Government to strip private operator Serco of responsibility for sterilisation after complaints about unclean and missing surgical instruments is a different matter.

It was an appropriate response to serious concerns about patient safety and recognition that there are some services that are best provided by specialist health managers rather than a contractor whose expertise is in asset management.

From June, the Health Department will take over the sterilisation services. It follows a series of reports of medical equipment found with blood and bone fragments after cleaning.

Health Minister Kim Hames has also ordered an independent review of clinical health care at the hospital. He conceded yesterday that it may have been a mistake to engage Serco for sterilisation work.

The issue is a timely warning about the need for caution in the rush to privatise services at public hospitals.

In the quest to get the best value for the massive dollars spent on health services, privatising administrative and logistical services at hospitals such as Fiona Stanley and the new Midland Health Campus makes economic sense. But running a hospital is about more than pure economics. The public has to be confident about the quality of services and reassured that the closest attention is paid to the fundamentals.

Other significant incidents in recent weeks, including the death of a patient who was prescribed a powerful drug that he was incompatible with, and serious shortfalls in cancer services that have led to long delays in treatment, add to the picture of a gleaming new facility that is not up to scratch when it comes to the provision of basic services.

It is an impression that has been fed by a State Opposition which has at times been opportunistic in wheeling out a succession of cases where service or care have been less than optimal, and unions that will leap on any chance to portray privatisation as a failure.

Some of their examples of problems are probably no worse than many that occur across the country on a regular basis. Despite the generally exceptional standards of care, there will always be lapses and errors.

Some of the problems have simply been bad luck. For example, the hot water rupture at the weekend that flooded some areas and meant the hospital had to move patients and go on ambulance bypass.

Fiona Stanley Hospital has been through a difficult birth. Dr Hames says he wants to restore public confidence in the hospital.

It is important this happens quickly, given the immense time, effort and money invested in the facility. The sterilisation change and the review of clinical services are positive steps in this direction.