Staffing change at urgent care clinic stirs critics

MOORABOOL Shire Council is seeking urgent talks with Western Health management after revelations that a registered nurse position will be removed from the Bacchus Marsh Urgent Care centre next month.

The morning shift position will be moved to the Melton Urgent Care facility as of 1 September, with the decision outlined in a memorandum to staff at both centres in mid-July.

Western Health has previously indicated the change was being considered as a response to demand at the two centres.

It has also been considering a reduction in doctors’ shifts from 12 hours to 10 hours in response to a request from them for shorter working days.

That change will also be implemented on 1 September.

But councillors are disappointed in the news, particularly in the light of reassurances given in April – and years earlier – that services in Bacchus Marsh would not suffer as a result of the Djerriwarrh Health-Western Health merger in 2021.

Western Health CEO Professor Russell Harrison, Minister for Health Mary-Anne Thomas and Member for Eureka Michaela Settle visited the Bacchus Marsh Hospital in April in an attempt to calm community concern over feared job and service losses when possible changes at Bacchus Marsh became known.

Cr Sheila Freeman raised the confirmation of the position moving to Melton as a matter of urgent business at the Shire’s monthly council meeting last week.

She moved a motion, which was carried unanimously, that the Shire seek to bring forward a scheduled 21 October meeting with Western Health representatives to before the end of this month.

 

In her explanatory notes accompanying the motion, Cr Freeman said patients were waiting at least two to three hours to be seen at the Bacchus Marsh facility, with many walking out because of the delay.

Cr Tom Sullivan asked Cr Freeman whether the reduction in staff correlated to a reduction in services. “Yes, yes it does,” Cr Freeman said.

Cr Rod Ward said he had media articles quoting the former Minister for Health Martin Foley in 2021, indicating there would be no cuts at Bacchus Marsh as a result of the merger.

“They’re going against every commitment they made…and I’d like to know how we can attack this because basically they’re breaking their promises,” he said.

Approached for comment, Western Health chief operating officer John Ferraro said: “As part of Western Health’s commitment to continue to provide best care to our communities, we regularly review staffing and overall resourcing of our sites and services to ensure we respond effectively to the needs of our growing population.

“Over the last four years we have increased staffing across our sites at Bacchus Marsh and Melton.

“For example, we now have a dedicated nurse unit manager at both urgent care clinics at Bacchus Marsh and Melton.”

Mr Ferraro said that, in addition, Western Health is continuing to invest in infrastructure, capital equipment and service improvements at Bacchus Marsh including the Grant Lodge residential aged care facility and upgrading the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system.

“The introduction of 10-hour shifts for doctors in our urgent care clinics, replacing 12-hour shifts, is the result of a positive consultation process with our medical staff who requested a decrease in shift time,” he said.

“Importantly the overall levels of medical staffing in the urgent care clinics have not been affected.”