00:00All the time we're being told about record investment in WA's health system.
00:07So why doesn't it seem to be making a difference?
00:10Let's start with some of the raw numbers.
00:12How much state money goes to WA Health each year?
00:16This chart shows government spending over the last 25 years a 313 per cent rise.
00:23Sounds pretty big right?
00:24It is, but it doesn't account for WA's growing population.
00:28Factored that in and the spending per West Australian shows a 158 per cent rise.
00:34But that's still not the full picture because as we've all experienced in the last few years,
00:39inflation can have a real bite.
00:43Work that in as you can see with this red line and you end up with a 24 per cent rise, about
00:47a per cent a year.
00:49Still big, but not quite as big.
00:51And while in some ways advancing technology has made health care cheaper, it's also created
00:56new treatments, including for illnesses which might not have been treatable before, which
01:01all comes at a cost.
01:02The other big issue is this chart, which shows the growing number of West Australians aged over 65,
01:08rising from 11 to 16 per cent over the last quarter of a century.
01:13Aged care is struggling to meet that demand and often when they're unwell, these older West Australians
01:19are ending up in hospital.
01:21The end result is capacity in the health care system and in hospitals in particular being
01:26eroded over time.
01:28It means when there are spikes in demand, like there was last week, reducing elective surgery
01:32is one of the few ways the system can cope.
01:35The Premier, Health Minister and Aged Care Minister are heading to Canberra this week to plead
01:40their case for more support from the Feds.
01:43On any measure, we are not getting our share and we want the Federal Government to understand
01:48that that's putting pressure on seniors, their families and our hospital system.
01:53There are no quick fixes for this problem, but it's clear both increased spending and major
01:59changes to the delivery of health care will be needed both now and in the years ahead.
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