Patients will continue to languish on elective surgery waiting lists at Werribee Mercy Hospital after its request for $85 million was ignored by the state government.
Mercy Health, which runs the hospital, submitted a business case asking for $85 million to be included in last Tuesday’s state budget for the operating theatres, an inpatient unit, a central sterile supply department and eight critical-care beds.
No money was allocated to the project despite latest government health statistics revealing a spike in the number of patients waiting for elective surgery at the hospital.
As of March 31, 668 patients were waiting for elective surgery at Werribee – up from 569.
The statistics also revealed that the average waiting time was 42 days, although waiting times for ear, nose and throat surgery blew out to 85 days, with a 73-day wait for orthopedic surgery.
This is despite the number of surgeries performed at the hospital increasing to 836 between January and March, 2014 – up from 690 in the March, 2013, quarter.
Tarneit MP Tim Pallas labelled the government’s failure to meet Mercy Health’s request as a “disgraceful snub”.
Mercy Health chief executive Stephen Cornelissen said the hospital needed the funding to help it better care for one of Australia’s fastest-growing regions.
“We believe that without expansion in services, the local community and the hospital will face significant challenges moving forward,” he said.
Before the Star Weekly went to print, Health Minister David Davis did not respond to questions about why Werribee Mercy had been overlooked for funding.
