Critics call for Cook's ouster

Pressure continues to mount for Roger Cook with both the state opposition and the Australian Medical Association WA today calling for him to resign as health minister.

It follows the death of a seven-year-old girl, Aishwarya Aswath, from streptococcus at Perth Children's Hospital in April.

That death attracted significant media coverage amid mounting concerns from the opposition and the AMA that Western Australia’s hospitals are understaffed and becoming reliant on the process of ambulance ramping.

Debbie Karasinski, who chaired the health department’s child and adolescent health service, resigned following an initial investigation into the girl’s death.

CAHS’ chief executive Aresh Anwar also offered his resignation but it was not accepted by Mr Cook.

An independent inquiry, which will include any matters of specific concern to the girl’s family, will now be taken into the hospital’s emergency department.

Mr Cook apologised “unreservedly” to the girl’s family after yesterday tabling the report in state parliament.

That report made 11 recommendations for Perth Children’s Hospital, including improvement to triage processes, improved clinical supervision in the emergency department and the development of a clear pathway for parents to escalate concerns with staff members.

While he later told media that staff shortages were not to blame for the incident, the report does indicate that uncovered sick leave resulted in a reduction of available medical staff, which in turn may have contributed to a delay in recognising the severity of Ms Aswath's illness.

Ms Mettam referred to those claims today in calling on Mr Cook to resign, saying his position as health minister was now untenable.

“There is no way to spin this, the responsibility for making sure our hospitals are properly resourced with appropriate equipment is on him,” she said.

“If he can’t ensure that our hospitals have the medical staff they need and have access to basic life-saving equipment, then he is not the best person to oversee this health portfolio.

“We have a system that is, according to the report, lacking a triage process policy, lacking a process where parental concerns can be escalated and lacking a model for clinical supervision to support staff.

“The government has given themselves six months to implement the recommendations so what happens in the meantime?”

Ms Mettam’s comments come after the AMA's state president Andrew Miller this morning told 6PR that there should be "a new health minister" in WA and that Dr Karasinski's resignation amounted to her having been "thrown under a bus".

Responding to Ms Mettam's calls in state parliament this morning, Mr Cook said the department now had insights into what had occurred and was now taking steps to ensure it never happens again.