By Rowan Forster
PATIENTS at Casey Hospital’s emergency department are enduring some of the longest waits in Melbourne as the hospital struggles to cope with the region’s rapidly growing population.
Latest emergency response data revealed the average wait for 90 per cent of visitors at the Berwick-based hospital is about two hours, the fifth longest across the city.
It comes amid increasing pressure on the State Government to fund the proposed new West Gippsland Hospital and alleviate pressure on the bustling Casey facility.
As it stands, residents from Dandenong, Cranbourne, Pakenham, Officer and even Gippsland are all funnelling into Berwick for treatment.
Members of Where’s The Funding (WTF), a group fighting for the redevelopment of West Gippsland Hospital, were outraged when they discovered the state budget had snubbed the facility.
Group member Kieren Huntly suspects the lack of healthcare facilities in Melbourne’s south-east and Gippsland are to blame for Casey’s growing pains.
“No wonder the Casey Hospital is getting inundated when the State Government won’t commit to providing adequate health care for the communities out here,” he said.
“A lot of people would have to go to Casey from here anyway.
“It’s easy to see why people would be waiting.”
Opposition Leader Matthew Guy travelled to Drouin East on Friday, committing to fund the new West Gippsland Hospital in his government’s first budget if elected in November.
Mr Guy accused Premier Daniel Andrews of being a representative of Melbourne, and not Victoria.
He also believes the facility would alleviate demand in the Casey-Cardinia region.
“There are not enough health services between Dandenong and Gippsland and we will fix that,” he said.
“Victorians deserve the best quality healthcare and that’s why I’ll make sure works on West Gippsland Hospital are underway in the first term of a Liberal Nationals Government.
“It will take pressure off Casey Hospital and others in the area.”
A site at the corner of Princes Way and Lardners Track has been earmarked for the new facility, should the Guy Government be elected.
The bid has received enormous support, with Narracan MP Gary Blackwood tabling a petition signed by nearly 10,000 residents in parliament.
“As a Life Governor of the West Gippsland Hospital who served nine years as a Board member and having had three generations of the Blackwood family born at the hospital, I am incredibly passionate about making sure it provides great service to the community,” Mr Blackwood said.
In the same report, 66 per cent of patients were treated within the time set by Department of Health guidelines, with 34 per cent forced to wait longer.
The Gazette has reached out to Monash Health – which operates Casey Hospital – for comment.
