Casey South communities are frustrated that the new Cranbourne Community Hospital will not provide non-life-threatening urgent care, a promise they say was made during planning.
The long-awaited Hospital will take in its first patients from Monday 6 October.
A Facebook post by operator Monash Health on 25 September stated that if patients need urgent care but it is not life-threatening, the closest Urgent Care Clinic will remain the Narre Warren Medicare Urgent Care Clinic.
The announcement has triggered widespread concern among residents, many of whom feel the hospital falls short of expectations.
Cranbourne resident Wendy Trezise said she was “absolutely furious” when she found out about the absence of a non-life-threatening urgent care service at the new Hospital.
“We were told 10 years ago there would be a brand-new hospital because they knew the area was going to absolutely explode,” she said.
“So everyone’s thinking, great! We won’t have to go to Casey. We won’t have to go to Frankston and sit there for hours. We’re going to have our own hospital. But it’s not a hospital. It’s just an extension of Cranbourne Integrated Care Centre.
“I feel that we’ve been really misled, and it shouldn’t be called a hospital because it’s not. It doesn’t really provide any urgent care.
“We should have been told the whole story right from the start.”
On the website of the Victorian Health Building Authority (VHBA), a branch under the Department of Health, it says that “after-hours urgent care” will be provided at the new Hospital.
There is no qualifier before the term “urgent care,” which, community members argue, makes it natural to assume the service would encompass both life-threatening and non-life-threatening conditions.
Vice president of Casey Residents & Ratepayers Association Anthony Tassone said the community was led to believe this Hospital would include urgent care services.
He pointed out that without urgent care services, the new Hospital falls short of its promise to take pressure off local emergency departments and to provide care closer to home, a promise also outlined at the VHBA website.
“The removal of these services without any explanation is a broken promise to the people of Cranbourne and Casey,” Mr Tassone said.
“By its very nature, urgent care is urgently needed, and residents in Cranbourne and surrounding areas should not be expected to have to drive up to 30 minutes away.
“This is simply not good enough for a city the size of Casey, one of the fastest growing communities in Australia. Families here already face long waits and long drives to access non-emergency but time-sensitive care.
“Residents deserve a clear answer from the government: why were urgent care services dropped, and when will they be reinstated?“
Cranbourne Gardens Ward Councillor Michelle Crowther is urging the State Government and Monash Health to provide the Casey community with clarity on when urgent care will be available and accessible.
“With the Casey community being one of the largest in Victoria, and continuing to rapidly grow, access to critical services is more important than ever,” she said.
“An Urgent Care Clinic is greatly needed in Cranbourne, where accessing timely GP appointments continues to be a challenge.
“I’ve experienced this firsthand with my own family, and many local residents have shared similar frustrations.”
When contacted, a Victorian Government spokesperson said that the soon-to-open Cranbourne Community Hospital was a part of the State Government’s $800 million program to deliver community hospitals in major growth areas across Victoria.
“Operated by Monash Health, once fully operational, Cranbourne Community Hospital will provide a range of everyday services based on the needs of the local community, such as day surgery, dialysis, chemotherapy, dental, allied health, urgent care and mental health,” they said.
“Like all major health projects, services at the new Cranbourne Community Hospital will open gradually over time, allowing for a smooth transition and continuity for patients and staff.”
A Monash Health spokesperson said they would continue to update the community via social media pages and their website for the latest on services as they open.
“Urgent care services will not be operational from October,” they said.
Opposition MP for South-Eastern Metropolitan Region Ann-Marie Hermans said it appeared that the State Government had cheated the voting public on its promise from the 2018 State Election.
“This hospital has been nothing but an expensive relocation of our existing integrated centre, and is without a new urgent care service,” she said.
