By Renee Wood
Services for Healesville Hospital Action Group (SHHAG) has been advocating for the need to establish an Urgent Care Centre at the local hospital for almost a decade.
Now the group is hoping this federal election might be the key to investigating the need for the specialised services.
Chairperson Jane Judd is calling for the Casey candidates to commit to an investigation into the need to establish an UCC.
“I would love the Casey candidates to acknowledge the need for an urgent care centre and to express interest to the government that if they were elected, that Healesville would be identified as a suitable site,” Ms Judd said.
Currently, the Healesville Hospital is managed by Eastern Health and has GPs available to see patients, however if they are busy patients have to travel to Maroondah or Box Hill hospital to access care.
In the establishment of an UCC, nurses would be up-skilled to deliver specialised services such as running diagnostics assessments and screenings, x-rays etc.
“What you need is an interim assessment and screening service to pick up whether you’ve got a really serious situation or something that can be handled locally,” Ms Judd said.
“In some instances they have the ability to get specialised tests…. Someone might have had a heart attack, they can provide ECGs, and they can do blood tests and get that diagnosis, supported and get extra assistance. So they really are a specialist intervention service.”
Ms Judd said that the benefits of having this centre in the Healesville area, which is short on GPs and has limited ED access, means that there would always be nurses in an acute or sub-acute setting.
It’s also seen as a more possible and financially viable option rather than investigating the delivery of an Emergency Department.
“To have on a roster of at least one specially trained, ‘ripened’ nurse that can manage any presentations – that’s not as hard to do as it is to have a doctor on call 24/7.”
Urgent Care Centres are generally supported at hospitals which are a small rural health service, something Ms Judd has worked in while at Alexandra District Health.
Ms Judd also believes allowing local GPs to admit patients at the local hospital would also be a benefit to local heathcare providers.
“It would be a much better local service if our GPs had admitting rights. Currently they have to refer patients either to EH wide waiting lists or go to private hospitals down the line.”
The need for more immediate health care is only growing as the local population and tourist numbers grow.
“Lots of people go walking and hiking and twist an ankle – at the moment, if there are no vacancies in the GP clinic, they are advised to go down to Maroondah hospital or the Angliss Hospital and that’s a significant distance.
“Everyone in that [20 kilometre] catchment from Woori Yallock, Launching Place, Warburton, all of those people would then have an improved healthcare system at their disposal.”
Funds would be needed to develop the Urgent Care Centre but the first step wanted by the action group is for Casey candidates to acknowledge the need for the centre and then to support an investigation, if elected.
“It would be so exciting if we could get a commitment before the election, that our need for an Urgent Care Centre would be given serious consideration by the Commonwealth Government,” Ms Judd said.
Greens candidate Jenny Game said she can commit to this.
Liberal candidate Aaron Violi said the Liberal Government has doubled funding for public hospitals.
“In Victoria alone, federal funding contribution for public hospitals services in Victoria under the National Health Reform Agreement (NHRA) has more than doubled from $3.3 billion in 2012-13 to $6.9 billion in 2020-21,” Mr Violi said.
“I will continue to fight for our local community and have committed to meeting with Services for Healesville Hospital Action Group (SHHAG) if elected and urge the Victorian Government to invest in our public hospitals and health system.”
United Party candidate Anthony Bellve said as a local resident he understands and acknowledges the need for an UCC and if elected will call for establishing the facility.
“Currently, people are left with the option of waiting to seek care with the next available GP appointment, or attend an emergency room creating further pressure on a broken hospital system,” Mr Bellve said.
“The United Australia Party, if elected will fix what Labor and the Liberals have broken by injecting $40 billion into our hospitals. If elected, I would strongly advocate for some of this funding to be used to establish an Urgent Care Centre at the Healesville Hospital.”
Last week Labor leader Anthony Albanese committed to establishing a Medicare urgent care clinic in at least 50 regions across the country if elected at this month’s federal election.
However, it’s yet to be announced if Healesville would be considered as one of the regions.
Labor candidate Bill Brindle and fellow other Casey Candidates were contacted for comment.
