The chief of Western Australia's Country Health Service says further cuts to opening hours and services at regional hospitals may be considered as the government continues to battle a critical shortage of health workers across the state.
WACHS was forced to cut operating hours at Wyndham Hospital last month, in the state's far north, after it emerged nurses were being asked to work 112-hour rosters to deliver the required level of care, despite previous claims the hospital was staffed at appropriate levels.
The combination of security issues for healthcare workers in town and a significant shortage of available nurses saw the number of nursing staff drop to just three when nine were needed for the hospital to operate safely.
Speaking during a visit to the Kimberley last week, WACHS chief executive Jeffrey Moffet conceded he was unable to say how long nurses had been expected to work extended hours to make up for the shortage.
He said while security incidents in Wyndham were a unique circumstance, staffing at a number of other regional hospitals was being monitored week-to-week due to similar issues.
"If we have a concern that we can't sustain the service in a safe way we will make changes, we've made that very clear," he said.
Week-by-week monitoring
Mr Moffet flagged particular concerns with Derby and Halls Creek hospitals, which both have difficult staffing challenges in the coming months.
"Our staff go to extraordinary lengths to keep services going including doing regular overtime and extra shifts, and often cancelling leave," he said.
"I think that's really commendable, and it's really important that we support staff as much as we can to adjust to the circumstances they face.
He said the upcoming Christmas holidays would likely see changes to staffing levels at both locations, and staff from Broome currently backfilling in Derby would eventually need to return home.
"It's certainly a challenging outlook for Derby, but currently services are stable," he said.
"Halls Creek is similar. It's another site where it's traditionally very difficult to staff."
Mr Moffet said WACHS was acutely aware of the need to recruit staff, but despite offering flexible conditions, attracting a supply of nurses and doctors continued to prove a challenge.
It is an outlook that has also been impacted by a growing COVID-19 outbreak in the Northern Territory, with many communities on the WA border sitting close to where cases have been detected in remote regions.
