WHAT’S the plan, Mary-Anne?
That was the question posed by Sunraysia Daily to Victoria Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas on Thursday in regards to health care for the north west.
You see, it was a couple of years back when her predecessor, former Victorian Government Health Minister Martin Foley, visited the Mildura Base Public Hospital and admitted it was no longer fit for purpose.
Since that time, the government commissioned a $2.1 million master plan which was due for release in April last year.
This newspaper has been ringing and emailing the government to ask for it ever since.
It is 16 months, a state election and state budget later and it has still not been made public.
We have been waiting for the Labor Government to provide details of what a potential redevelopment will look like. Or when it will happen. Or what it will cost.
But nothing.
So, when Ms Thomas visited our hospital this week for the first time since taking over from Mr Foley, we had the chance to ask her in person: where is the masterplan?
Turns out, we will never know.
Ms Thomas admitted to our reporter the masterplan for health care in the north west won’t be released. It will remain an “internal” document.
This community, it has determined, is not on a needs-to-know basis with what is intended for its health care.
Either that, or perhaps we can guess that the government still doesn’t know what to do.
What isn’t a closely guarded secret is that our health care system is in distress, and has been for some time.
Mr Foley understood that. He saw it was bursting at the seams.
There were reports this week of 30-hour waits in the emergency department. If the place was a motel, it would have a permanent No Vacancy sign flashing, because there simply aren’t enough beds.
It was only six weeks ago that I had hip surgery and was fortunate they found a bed at the Private Hospital for my recovery.
In the hours after my surgery, I was parked in a room where doctors and nurses worked all around me, for there was nowhere else to go.
I felt for the staff because this is their normal. They are left to constantly apologise to patients and their families for something that is not their fault.
What was positive about Ms Thomas’ visit this week, though, was she got to see first-hand the health care situation in the north west.
She was able to talk to those on the ground, understand the pressures and the needs of this community.
If the Victorian Government, which is mired in massive debt, is not going to build Mildura a new hospital, or even expand it in the foreseeable future, then what is it going to do?
What solutions can be found?
Even from planning stages to the building or redevelopment of a new hospital, it can take years to turn a sod.
But the hospital in Mildura hasn’t got years to wait. It has been outgrown for years, so what can the government do to help us now?
Smart minds need to be open to workable solutions in Mildura to free up bed space, to increase ED capacity, and to improve the health care of our community.
We hope Ms Thomas walks away from her visit this week understanding the urgency.
For people in the north west, the politics don’t matter when it comes to our health care.
We just want our elected government, whoever it is, to step up and do what needs to be done.
So Mary-Anne, please, we need a plan. And when your government comes up with one, let us in on the secret. Because this matters to us and we deserve to know.
