2 weeks Ago By Briana Shepherd
WA Health Department directives restricting filming of hospital ramping for the TV show Paramedics have been labelled dishonest by the state opposition and a disservice to health workers and the public by doctors. St John WA, the state government's contracted ambulance service, is currently filming with production company WTFN Entertainment for the coming seventh season of the 'real-life' show. In a press release, St John WA states: "This popular observational documentary, which airs on the Nine Network nationally, takes viewers behind the scenes as paramedics respond to emergency calls, showcasing the fast-paced, high pressure work of pre-hospital care".
But a document outlining filming protocols and restrictions, sent by the Department of Health to WA public hospitals and seen by the ABC, has prompted concerns from the opposition and the Australian Medical Association WA (AMA WA), for what appears to be the department's ability to control what can and cannot be seen by the public. WA's Health Department is forbidding use of vision showing "perceived capacity constraints" in hospitals. Editing protocols include: Filming protocols include In several previous episodes of Paramedics, filming continued once an ambulance reached a hospital, with vision of patient transfers sometimes aired.
AMA WA fears excessive censorship Ramping refers to the time an ambulance spends waiting outside an emergency department, unable to transfer the patient to the hospital, meaning the patient remains in the care of the paramedics. On Thursday, t , which has shown, in some states, ramping hours are double what they were five years ago. Ambulance ramping in WA has increased this financial year.
While ramping hours in WA did drop in 2023-24 to 49,530 hours, they have since gone back up, with more than 50,300 hours already recorded in the nine months to the end of March this financial year. AMA WA president Michael Page said he would "hate to see excessive censorship by WA Health of what comes out of this filming". "I hope that there's no intervention from government that prevents the viewer from seeing the full picture of the state of our health system and the tough job that our paramedics do every day, as well as the work done by our doctors, our nurses and everyone else working in our health system," he said.
AMA WA president Michael Page says it's important the frustration faced by paramedics is seen. "Paramedics do spend a lot of time waiting with patients on the ramp because they can't get their patients into the emergency department because we do not have enough hospital capacity. "I hope that experience of paramedics is shown for what it is, which is a job [that] is occasionally frustrating.
"They're frustrated by the state of our public hospital system, the shortage of beds that causes them to have to wait outside hospitals rather than getting out and attending to the next patient in the community who needs their care." 'Extraordinary spin': opposition WA's Shadow Health Minister Libby Mettam slammed the government for the move. "Ambulance ramping has become part and parcel of working as a paramedic under the Cook Labor Government, and for this government to issue such a directive on this program highlights a lack of transparency and accountability," she said.
Shadow Health Minister Libby Mettam has accused the government of dishonesty. This directive is not only a disservice to WA patients, to health workers, to paramedics, but is also deeply dishonest for the government to issue such a directive during an ambulance ramping crisis. "We've just had an election campaign.
Health was not a priority. It is still not a priority. "And it's extraordinary that this government is just continuing to try and spin their way out of what is a health crisis costing Western Australian patients lives.
" Government urged to fix problem Both Dr Page and Ms Mettam called on the government to instead deal with the issue, something they said was not an ambulance problem but a hospital capacity problem. Dr Page said planned upgrades to Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and Royal Perth Hospital, which the government ran as election promises, were welcome, but not enough. Many have promised solutions to Western Australia’s problem-plagued health system, but do any of these ideas have a chance of addressing the heart of the issue? "We do need refurbishment of our ageing hospitals but in addition to that, we need hundreds if not thousands more hospital beds to cope with our ageing and growing population," he said.
In a statement, a WA government spokesperson said there were "a number of complex contributing factors that contribute to ramping, and we are working hard to address the issue". "We have added more than 800 hospital beds to the system since 2021 — the equivalent of another Fiona Stanley Hospital. There are hundreds more in the pipeline.
" A spokesperson for St John WA said it was the only ambulance service in the country to publish daily data on ramping. "We support transparency and believe the series (Paramedics) complements, rather than replaces, those efforts," the spokesperson said. So who has ultimate oversight? A WA Health spokesperson told the ABC the department did not have an agreement with the production company, but had prepared the filming protocols at the request of service providers, which run public hospitals.
The protocols were necessary, in part, to protect privacy and confidentiality as required under law, the spokesperson added. St John WA is contracted by the government to provide ambulance services in the state. The health minister, the department and St John WA were all asked if the protocols gave the department something akin to complete control over what could be aired.
The minister and the department did not answer the question, but St John said the query would need to be directed to the department. St John also said it had an agreement with WTFN under which editorial control rested with the production company, but the ambulance service and other stakeholders were able to review the content to "ensure it reflects operational, legal and reputational responsibilities". WTFN Entertainment did not respond to questions from the ABC about the protocols, including how they differed from seasons of the show filmed in other states.
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