The severe health worker shortage in the Kimberley has sparked a temporary crackdown on alcohol sales in Kununurra, prompting a backlash in the community.
On Friday afternoon Kununurra Hospital asked police to request weekend-long alcohol restrictions in order to curb patient admissions.
In correspondence seen by the ABC, hoteliers vented their frustration after being told the hospital's chronically short-staffed emergency department would not be able to cope with the usual stream of alcohol-related injuries.
The town's liquor accord agreed to limit takeaway alcohol to mid-strength options for 48 hours.
Temporary alcohol restrictions occur from time to time in towns throughout the Kimberley, where alcohol-fuelled violence is rife.
But usually, such measures are in response to a surge in violence, not a shortage of nurses and doctors.
Publican Darren Spackman said local businesses such as his were paying the price for weaknesses in the health system.
"It's a big concern if hospitals can't cope. If we're stopping selling full-strength alcohol, what's next?" he said.
Request for restrictions 'not unusual': WACHS
WA Country Health Service (WACHS) has spent months grappling with a severe health worker shortage across the Kimberley, which has been felt especially hard at sites in Wyndham and Kununurra.
Health workers have told the ABC they fear WA's border restrictions and WACHS's reputation for exhausting nurses will make it harder to attract much-needed nurses and doctors before Omicron spreads to the region.
The initial request for restrictions — sighted by the ABC — also places significant emphasis on the shortage of staff at Kununurra's emergency department as the motivating factor for the restrictions.
With restrictions usually put in place in response to a specific incident or documented upswing in violent behaviour in a given community, the ABC understands this request was enacted solely around the hospital's likely inability to respond to the ordinary amount of illnesses and injuries they deal with each weekend.
But WACHS Kimberley District Medical Officer Sue Phillips told ABC Perth requests from health were not unusual, and the ongoing staffing crisis was not the sole factor behind the request.
"It isn't unusual for the ED to talk with police," Dr Phillips said.
She said repeated evidence across the Kimberley indicated the restriction of takeaway alcohol sales reduced presentations to local EDs and reduced the level of "senseless violence" health workers were regularly exposed to.
"Just a 24-hour reprieve reduces the stress," Dr Phillips said.
"Those injuries, that loss of life, wouldn't have occurred if the perpetrator and victim were sober."
Further restrictions on cards as Omicron spreads
But Dr Phillips conceded staffing pressures were impacting hospitals across the Kimberley, with a critical shortage of nurses a particular problem.
She said the small number of full-time staff in the Kimberley meant the existing workforce was easily disrupted by leave or illness.
But she was unable to say exactly how short of nurses the region's hospitals were, with agency staff being called on to address gaps week-to-week.
"People are being asked to work double shifts," Dr Phillips said.
"I don't have an exact figure in my head, because it can change day to day."
With the ongoing spread of Omicron within Regional WA, she said more widespread restrictions might be requested to ensure Kimberley hospitals could focus on caring for seriously ill patients, rather than dealing with the impact of alcohol-fueled violence.
