Internal emails have revealed health bosses in the Kimberley went to desperate lengths to keep a critically short-staffed hospital running as normal, while nurses bore the brunt of "unsafe" rosters.
The emails, obtained under Freedom of Information laws, also reveal WA Country Health Service reduced patient admissions at Wyndham Hospital to deal with the crisis.
That strategy was among a raft of key details WACHS' communications team did not make public, prompting the nurses' union to suggest there was a culture of secrecy.
The crisis came to a head on October 20 when the ABC published revelations a nurse new to the hospital was asked to work 112 hours for her first fortnight's roster, which she described as unacceptable and unsafe in a letter to the Premier.
Hours later, the health service cut back the 24/7 facility to a day service, and only on-call during the night.
WACHS insists it did not bow to media pressure.
But the emails obtained by the ABC raise questions about why WACHS did not act sooner to relieve the pressure on nurses who had travelled large distances to work in the remote town, situated almost 3,000 kilometres from Perth.
Regional WACHS boss knew for weeks of staffing crisis
The emails show three weeks earlier WACHS Kimberley regional director Bec Smith was aware of the severe shortage of nurses at the hospital.
The crisis unfolded after a series of break-ins at nursing accommodation in late September caused a mass exodus of nurses fearing for their safety.
On September 30, Ms Smith was told the hospital was trying to reduce patient admissions by treating people in the emergency department.
She also knew her colleagues had asked St John WA to base one of the town's paramedics in the hospital's ED to help with patient assessments.
However, the health service maintained publicly at the time that its hospitals in the Kimberley were staffed at "safe and appropriate" levels.
Ms Smith insists the assurance was made because for a brief period new agency staff had been recruited to the hospital.
"This rapidly changed when those same replacement staff sought to discontinue their contracts based on security concerns within the town," she said.
Then, on October 11, Ms Smith received emails from the office of WACHS' chief executive referencing a document describing staff shortages at Wyndham Hospital as "critical".
Pertinent facts kept from public eye
On October 19, the ABC sent a list of questions to WACHS related to the nurse's claims of unsafe rosters and the level of service being provided by the hospital.
Internal emails now reveal those questions were answered directly by Kununurra Hospital's operations manager Keda Bond, who at the time was responsible for Wyndham's rosters.
Ms Bond explained the hospital was down six nurses — two thirds of its normal contingent — and those left were working 12-hour shifts.
She did not disagree that the nurse's roster was "unsafe and unacceptable", pointing out that staffing issues had already been escalated.
She said services at the hospital had been reduced by only admitting patients when clinically viable on review and sending those requiring higher care to Kununurra.
However, WACHS' communications staff declined to include those points in its statement to the ABC at the time.
Ms Smith said the decision to scale back the hospital's hours the following day was not taken lightly.
'Deny, deny, deny'
Australian Nursing Federation WA secretary Mark Olson said WACHS should have been more up-front about the crisis with Kimberley residents.
"The emails show the lengths government bureaucrats and the government itself went to hide critical information from the community," he said.
"It's incredibly disrespectful, given places like Wyndham don't capture the immediate attention of the press in Perth."
Fears staffing crisis is a new normal as Omicron looms
As WACHS grapples with the health staffing crisis being felt across Kimberley and the region readies itself for the arrival of the Omicron variant, Mr Olson warned the situation in Wyndham was not isolated..
Ms Smith said the health service had often experienced difficulties staffing remote sites in the East Kimberley.
"This isn't a new issue but one that has most definitely been exacerbated by national and international border closures," she said.
While more nurses have since been recruited to the hospital, it has not yet been restored to normal operating hours.
Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson did not respond to questions from the ABC.
