logo
School holidays set to supercharge spread of flu as WA cases hit over 10,000

School holidays set to supercharge spread of flu as WA cases hit over 10,000

West Australian02-07-2025
Two people have died of influenza in the past fortnight, with the Health Minister describing this year's flu season as the worst in a decade — and experts warning the school holidays will only supercharge the spread.
WA Health figures show there have been 10,428 recorded influenza infections so far this year, more than double the 4641 cases at the same time last year.
In June, there were 2948 flu cases compared to 1455 in the same month in 2024.
The flu has killed five people so far this year — one less than at the same time last year. Two of those deaths occurred between June 8 and June 22.
A further 1692 people had been admitted to hospital as of June 22 — more than 800 hospitalisations more than the same time last year.
The alarming figures can be revealed after Health Minister Meredith Hammat claimed high rates of ambulance ramping were due to the worst flu season in a decade.
Ms Hammat pointed the finger as she was grilled in Budget Estimates on Tuesday about the number of hours ambulances were ramped at WA hospitals in May and June.
Ambulance crews spent 5336 hours waiting to transfer patients outside WA hospitals in May, the highest on record for that month.
In June, ambulances were ramped for a total of 5573 hours, with the length of time paramedics waited outside regional hospitals hitting its highest ever monthly record at 259 hours.
'There's a variation across months, you referred to the May figures, but we are dealing with the worst flu season in 10 years,' Ms Hammat said.
'The context is important — the context of the ageing and growing population, the context of the worst flu season in 10 years. These are all factors that have an impact as well.'
Curtin University international health professor Jaya Dantas said she expected flu cases to increase further with public school holidays starting at the end of this week.
'The months of July and August are our winter months, so it gets colder, wetter and at the same time we have the school holidays — this all leads to an increase in infections,' she said.
'If there is a subsequent increase in emergency department presentations then it's worrying because it means that it can actually have an impact on our health system.'
Australian Medical Association WA president Kyle Hoath said the State was in the middle of a 'horror flu season'.
'The flu season is probably three or four weeks ahead of where we were this time last year, but we don't see it ending sooner,' he said.
'It's always hard to predict with the flu, but the likelihood is that cases will continue to rise and we will be in for a horror winter.
'The impact on the emergency departments, on our after hours and critical care clinics, and GPs is going to go through the roof over the next six to eight weeks.'
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

WA news LIVE: Elective surgeries delayed after surge of patients in WA hospitals
WA news LIVE: Elective surgeries delayed after surge of patients in WA hospitals

Sydney Morning Herald

time2 days ago

  • Sydney Morning Herald

WA news LIVE: Elective surgeries delayed after surge of patients in WA hospitals

Latest posts Latest posts 9.31am Elective surgeries delayed in WA hospitals after surge of patients Elective surgeries at public hospitals in WA that had been scheduled for Wednesday will be moved after a surge of patients this week. WA Health director general Dr Shirley Bowen said the 'significant surge in demand' meant the department was 'proactively rescheduling some non-urgent surgeries in the metropolitan area'. 'Reprioritising and rescheduling non-urgent surgeries is a mechanism used nationally, when required, to manage hospital system demand,' Bowen said. Loading 'We continue to prioritise our most seriously ill and injured patients. 'Our hospitals continue to carefully manage surgery lists so that our sickest and most urgent cases are cared for promptly. 'We acknowledge that deferring surgery for a short time might be inconvenient and difficult for some patients. 'We are committed to ensuring patients' surgery is re-scheduled as soon as possible. 'Affected patients will be notified by their treating hospital.' Australian Medical Association WA president Dr Kyle Hoath said postponing category 2 and 3 surgeries was a 'tough, temporary call', however 'with unprecedented pressure it's the right call to keep emergency and urgent care safe'. 'Category 1 continues, and affected patients will be rebooked as soon as it's safe,' he said. 'The growing pressure point is aged‑care capacity – too many people ready for nursing‑home placement are stuck in hospital beds. Loading 'We back the minister and premier in calling on the Commonwealth to step up and deliver on aged‑care reforms and placements. 'We've warned the health system is stretched thin. We need to progress solutions now so we don't keep repeating this cycle. 'We're awaiting confirmation of the overnight figures, but pressure has been severe across multiple sites.' The news comes days after the government announced it was committing $50 million towards hospital maintenance and review its procedures following a raft of headlines laying bare conditions at some of WA's busiest hospitals. 9.31am Across Australia and around the world Here's what's making headlines elsewhere today: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has admonished Anthony Albanese as a 'weak politician' who has 'betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia's Jews' in a stunning personal rebuke that has deepened the deteriorating diplomatic relationship between the two nations. The remarks follow Australia's decision to reject the visa application of a right-wing Israeli politician, which triggered Israel to revoke the visas of Australian diplomats in the occupied Palestinian territories. President Donald Trump has ruled out US troops being deployed to Ukraine as part of any peace agreement with Russia, one day after he welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and a high-powered European delegation to the White House. Trump said Ukraine's aspirations to join the NATO military alliance and the return of Crimea, seized by Russian forces in 2014, were 'impossible', ahead of a proposed meeting between Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The federal government's economic reform roundtable will continue in Canberra today, after a first day of discussions largely hailed as productive by government, business and union leaders on Tuesday. Independent MP Allegra Spender said the roundtable had agreed on the importance of training workers to adapt to emerging technologies, including AI, with Business Council of Australia chief executive Bran Black calling the conversations 'really quite constructive'.

WA news LIVE: Elective surgeries delayed after surge of patients in WA hospitals
WA news LIVE: Elective surgeries delayed after surge of patients in WA hospitals

The Age

time2 days ago

  • The Age

WA news LIVE: Elective surgeries delayed after surge of patients in WA hospitals

Latest posts Latest posts 9.31am Elective surgeries delayed in WA hospitals after surge of patients Elective surgeries at public hospitals in WA that had been scheduled for Wednesday will be moved after a surge of patients this week. WA Health director general Dr Shirley Bowen said the 'significant surge in demand' meant the department was 'proactively rescheduling some non-urgent surgeries in the metropolitan area'. 'Reprioritising and rescheduling non-urgent surgeries is a mechanism used nationally, when required, to manage hospital system demand,' Bowen said. 'We continue to prioritise our most seriously ill and injured patients. 'Our hospitals continue to carefully manage surgery lists so that our sickest and most urgent cases are cared for promptly. 'We acknowledge that deferring surgery for a short time might be inconvenient and difficult for some patients. 'We are committed to ensuring patients' surgery is re-scheduled as soon as possible. 'Affected patients will be notified by their treating hospital.' Australian Medical Association WA president Dr Kyle Hoath said postponing category 2 and 3 surgeries was a 'tough, temporary call', however 'with unprecedented pressure it's the right call to keep emergency and urgent care safe'. 'Category 1 continues, and affected patients will be rebooked as soon as it's safe,' he said. 'The growing pressure point is aged‑care capacity – too many people ready for nursing‑home placement are stuck in hospital beds. Loading 'We back the minister and premier in calling on the Commonwealth to step up and deliver on aged‑care reforms and placements. 'We've warned the health system is stretched thin. We need to progress solutions now so we don't keep repeating this cycle. 'We're awaiting confirmation of the overnight figures, but pressure has been severe across multiple sites.' The news comes days after the government announced it was committing $50 million towards hospital maintenance and review its procedures following a raft of headlines laying bare conditions at some of WA's busiest hospitals. 9.31am Across Australia and around the world Here's what's making headlines elsewhere today: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has admonished Anthony Albanese as a 'weak politician' who has 'betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia's Jews' in a stunning personal rebuke that has deepened the deteriorating diplomatic relationship between the two nations. The remarks follow Australia's decision to reject the visa application of a right-wing Israeli politician, which triggered Israel to revoke the visas of Australian diplomats in the occupied Palestinian territories. President Donald Trump has ruled out US troops being deployed to Ukraine as part of any peace agreement with Russia, one day after he welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and a high-powered European delegation to the White House. Trump said Ukraine's aspirations to join the NATO military alliance and the return of Crimea, seized by Russian forces in 2014, were 'impossible', ahead of a proposed meeting between Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The federal government's economic reform roundtable will continue in Canberra today, after a first day of discussions largely hailed as productive by government, business and union leaders on Tuesday. Independent MP Allegra Spender said the roundtable had agreed on the importance of training workers to adapt to emerging technologies, including AI, with Business Council of Australia chief executive Bran Black calling the conversations 'really quite constructive'.

WA public hospitals reschedule elective surgeries after surge in demand
WA public hospitals reschedule elective surgeries after surge in demand

ABC News

time2 days ago

  • ABC News

WA public hospitals reschedule elective surgeries after surge in demand

A number of planned elective surgeries have been put on hold in Western Australia due to a significant surge in demand on hospital emergency departments. In response to questions from the ABC, Health director general Dr Shirley Bowen said a high volume of patient presentations to WA's public hospitals overnight on Monday into Tuesday caused the surge. As a result, a number non-urgent surgeries planned for Wednesday in the metro area have been rescheduled. The postponement of elective surgeries is a strategy used by health authorities when the system is under pressure. In November 2021, widespread cancellations of non-urgent surgery across WA occurred during a strain on resources due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr Bowen said that was to ensure access to emergency healthcare for the rest of the week and impacted patients would be notified by their treating hospital. "To ensure access to emergency healthcare for Western Australians for the remainder of the week, WA Health is proactively rescheduling some non-urgent surgeries in the metropolitan area," Dr Bowen said. "We continue to prioritise our most seriously ill and injured patients. Dr Bowen acknowledged that the rescheduling might be "inconvenient and difficult for some patients". "We are committed to ensuring patients' surgery is re-scheduled as soon as possible."

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store