By Charlene Macaulay
About $1 billion is needed to get Werribee Mercy Hospital to the size and capacity it needs to cater for Wyndham’s burgeoning population.
Mercy group chief executive Stephen Cornelissen said the hospital was in desperate need of its own paediatric ward, an expansion of the emergency department and additional surgical services, and was seeking a $170 million commitment over the next four years to continue expansion.
Adjunct Professor Cornelissen said that while the hospital was grateful for its soon-to-open $85 million expansion, it was not enough to cater for current, and future, population growth.
As reported by Star Weekly last month, a pregnant woman who is due to give birth in December was unable to secure a booking because the hospital’s maternity ward was already at capacity for that month.
“I don’t think we can ask the government to give $1 billion in one go, but what we would like them to say is, ‘Let’s commit to funding this next phase in the next four years’,” Adjunct Professor Cornelissen said.
“We do work in great partnership with the government and they have been very supportive and we do work with them on the priority areas.
“That being said, we do know that the hospital is still under-sized. We do know that the population growth is extensive and, at present, we’re already transferring about 760 people a year out of our hospital to go to services elsewhere.
“We have over 7000 paediatric presentations in a year and yet we don’t have a paediatric ward. If you think of that, combined with 93 births [in Wyndham] each week, how long can we wait?
“We’re already at a self-sufficiency rate – the hospital’s ability to deal with the local health needs – of 33 per cent. The desired level across the state for all hospitals is 70 per cent.”
Adjunct Professor Cornelissen said it was time the government realised the west had a number of major growth corridors, each with separate needs.
When asked about the government’s plan for Werribee Mercy Hospital if Labor is re-elected in November, Health Minister Jill Hennessy referred to the $85 million expansion of Werribee Mercy and an extra $52.61 million in funding for 2018-19.
“While we plan for future needs, we’re also making the upgrades that health services in Melbourne’s west need now, so doctors and nurses can continue delivering high-quality safer care and meet growing demand,” she said.
Opposition health spokeswoman Mary Wooldridge also failed to answer specific questions about future funding for Werribee Mercy.
“We understand the need to invest in the health of all Victorians, especially our growth areas,” Ms Wooldridge said.
“The previous Liberal government invested $34 million into the Werribee Mercy mental health expansion project.”
