Hospital services and staff safe, Minister says

WESTERN Health has moved to reassure Bacchus Marsh residents that service and staffing levels at the local hospital are in no danger, in the face of community unrest about perceived cuts.

Minister for Health Mary-Anne Thomas visited the hospital last week on the invitation of Member for Eureka Michaela Settle, and toured the facility with Ms Settle and Western Health CEO Professor Russell Harrison.

After the tour, Ms Thomas and Ms Settle said they were satisfied that Western Health had no plans to degrade hospital services, while Professor Harrison stressed that nothing would be lost – and said the local network is actually expanding.

When Western Health took over the hospital in a voluntary merger with Djerriwarrh Health Services in 2021, various commitments were given that neither service levels nor jobs would be cut.

But local concerns surfaced last year when it became known that a 1.4 equivalent full-time nursing position at the urgent care centre (UCC) was to be diverted to Melton and, earlier this year, that the length of doctors’ shifts at the UCC would be reduced.

At least two Moorabool Shire councillors have voiced concerns, and internal documents about the nursing and doctors shift changes have been supplied anonymously to one of them.

But after visiting the hospital, Ms Thomas said: “This is a booming health service servicing a booming region, and seeing what is on offer here to the Bacchus Marsh community is fantastic.

“This community can be absolutely assured that they will continue to receive very top class care here at Bacchus Marsh.”

Ms Thomas said she knew the move from 12-hour doctors’ shifts to 10 hours was a response to staff issues about long working hours.

“What I can see here with Western Health is an organisation that has a really big emphasis on growing its workforce and responding to their needs because, frankly, there have been times when it’s been a challenge to get the workforce that we need,” she said.

Professor Harrison said that, in relation to the UCC, Western Health had actually increased staffing since it took over – and had no plans to downgrade it.

“We’ve increased staffing across the board, across Bacchus Marsh and Melton, which was the old Djerriwarrh footprint, and we’ve invested more money in staff to meet the growing needs of the population,” he said.

“The hospital actually is growing – there are more services now than there used to be – so hopefully that will give the community reassurance that we’re not closing it down.”

Professor Harrison said the shift length change was indeed a response to doctors’ concerns.

“The doctors came with a proposal that they didn’t want to work 12-hour shifts; it wasn’t helping their lifestyle, they were fatigued, there’s been a lot in the press about medical burnout,” he said. “So we listened to them.

“We’re not going to lose any [coverage] hours the way it’s restructured. We enacted [the change] so they can get the lifestyle they want and we can keep the workforce.”

Professor Harrison said the number of UCC beds open (there are eight, with six in use) is in accord with the Safe Patient Care Act – which sets minimum staffing levels – and was determined by demand.

Ms Settle said she too was now more confident that Bacchus Marsh would experience no reductions of either staff or services.

“I understand the community’s concern; Bacchus Marsh Hospital is really important to the community, but I got a great deal of confidence today – not only about how much they’ve invested in this hospital but also the opportunities that the network brings,” she said.

“Part of the reason I asked the Minister to come and visit was to offer that reassurance to the community. It’s going nowhere; if anything the staff and services have grown since the amalgamation, and I have every confidence the service will continue to be a great benefit to the local community for many years.”