WA Labor renewed calls for Health Minister Kim Hames to step down from either his health or tourism portfolio after reports patients were being treated in hospital corridors.
His office told Comment News last week that Dr Hames rejected these calls and he would continue to serve in whichever roles the Premier needed.
Health Department website figures showed ambulances spent 1598 hours ramped outside Perth hospitals in June.
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READ NOWAt Armadale, ramping hours were 53 hours more than the same time last year, and 43 hours up on those recorded in May.
A hospital spokesman said AKMH’s June ramping figures were one of the lowest of all Perth hospitals.
‘When ambulances are ramped at the Armadale Kelmscott Memorial Hospital, patients are brought from the ambulance and into the Emergency Department (ED) where they will be triaged by a senior nurse,’ he said.
‘Patients remain inside the ED and are co-managed by ambulance officers until a bay becomes available.
‘The sickest patients who attend our ED, triage 1 and 2, are not ramped.
‘Patients assessed as well enough to wait in the ED waiting area are moved to the waiting area.
‘AKMH does not move patients from the ED to ‘ward corridors’ to ease ambulance ramping.’
He said ramping only affected the ED and not elective surgery lists.