As I write this, shopping centres are full of tinsel and baubles and the end of another year is knocking at the door.
We’re in the midst of the eighth wave of COVID, but I have found it strangely reassuring. Yes, many people have been hit again – or curiously some are succumbing for the first time – and it’s not
much fun.
But while it remains highly infectious, the scary numbers of hospitalisations from serious illness are not there. While we don’t have a ‘get out of jail free card’ yet, we can breathe a bit easier.
WA’s health system could do with some good news too. It has been a rugged year, with demand continuing to outstrip supply, particularly at our public hospitals.
And the debate over the location of the new women’s and babies’ hospital – once destined for the QEII site in Nedlands but now headed to Murdoch – has given me flashbacks.
As a health reporter back in the early 2000s, I remember the landmark Reid Review into the future hospital needs of WA and one of the things it most stressed – avoiding duplication.
… the debate over the location of the new women’s and babies’ hospital – once destined for the QEII site in Nedlands but now headed to Murdoch – has given me flashbacks.
Yet in a move to appease opposition to the new maternity hospital heading over the Narrows, there has been talk of having an additional smaller facility in Nedlands. I offer some free advice to Roger Cook and Amber-Jade Sanderson – don’t do it or it will come back to bite you!
But to end on a positive note, I commend to you our cover story on Perth doctor Sarah Paton, who turned the mirror on herself to paint her patient experience – and it was good enough to earn her a runner-up spot in a prestigious art prize.
It is a big year-end for us at Medical Forum, with our first-ever January edition underway.
In the meantime, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy start to 2024.