Tuesday, 10 May 2022

Werribee Mercy Hospital

Dr CUMMING (Western Metropolitan) (17:05): (1897) My adjournment matter is to the Minister for Health in the other place, and the action that I seek is for the minister to clarify how much funding—and for what—the Werribee Mercy Hospital has received since 2015. Wyndham is one of the fastest growing local government areas in the state, and I do not dispute that hospital services are sadly lacking in the area, as they are across the whole of the Western Metropolitan Region. We have been crying out for more hospitals, and the new ones at Footscray and Melton cannot come soon enough. Melton is one of the biggest growth areas in the state, and by 2050 over half a million people will call the City of Melton home. And the population of Maribyrnong will increase by 67 per cent in less than 20 years. While the hospitals are needed to cater to the growing population, they are needed now.

While no priority seems to be given to the Melton hospital, promised over four years ago, the same cannot be said for the Werribee Mercy Hospital. Since 2015 money has seemed to be streaming out of this government into that hospital. In May 2015 the government announced funding for an expansion of the hospital, and three years and $87 million later it was completed. In 2018, $355.59 million in funding was provided to the hospital. In 2020 it received another $4.75 million in funding for service and capital planning. In 2021 it received another $50 million in funding to upgrade and replace engineering infrastructure and medical equipment. And in this year’s budget it received $110 million to upgrade its emergency department. Werribee Mercy Hospital is owned by Mercy Hospitals Victoria Ltd, a company limited by guarantee and a charity registered by the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission, and it is part of Mercy Health, a Catholic not-for-profit organisation. Maybe it is just me, but I am confused as to why a privately owned hospital is receiving so much government funding for capital works and equipment. No other hospital seems to be getting this amount of money from the government. A detailed explanation is needed for transparency and accountability for all Victorians. I hope they are actually using it to catch up on elective surgery at the same time.