Thursday, 1 September 2022

Daylesford hospital

Ms MAXWELL (Northern Victoria) (17:44): (2115) My adjournment is to the Minister for Health, and the action I seek is for the minister to commit to a significant capital works upgrade for the run-down and disintegrating Daylesford hospital. I had a great meeting last week with representatives of the Daylesford hospital upgrade committee. The hospital’s committed and capable team is increasingly working in conditions that are not fit for purpose and diminish the level of quality care they can provide to patients. The situation for Daylesford hospital echoes other pressures felt by regional hospitals, including poor infection control due to facilities that are outdated and unsuitable, ambulance ramping and bypasses, and a sense that they are always begging for funding instead of governments delivering ahead of the curve to meet the health service demands.

Daylesford hospital is 160 years old, and it has been 20 years since the last major upgrade. Despite being a tourism hotspot, their hospital buildings are crumbling and both locals and tourists often miss out on care. Key spaces like the urgent care centre and renal dialysis are too small and not well ventilated. The aged care wing does not meet contemporary guidelines and staff amenities are very poor. The community health and community nursing areas do not meet requirements for space, accommodation or functionality. Basically, it is a hot mess.

This campaign has strong backing from the community, and in 2021 the community raised $100 000 in less than eight weeks to fund development of a master plan. Central Highlands Rural Health commissioned and endorsed the plan earlier this year. This master plan provides a blueprint for the future of the Daylesford hospital. The total estimate for the build is $75 million, delivered in three broad tranches of around $25 million over 10 years. This provides perfect bite-size pieces for the government to deliver regular, staged investment. The government made a modest allocation of $4.5 million late in 2021 to upgrade the hospital’s operating theatre through the Regional Health Infrastructure Fund; however, this is separate to the master plan process and represents only a fraction of their total need. This is a community with wellbeing indicators that sadly back up this need. Asthma, heart disease, obesity, cancer incidence and smoking rates are all above the state average. Low birth weights, breastfeeding statistics, immunisation rates, maternal child health attendance and developmental vulnerabilities give further concern. The need for urgent care at Daylesford hospital has increased by 17 per cent in just one year from July 2020. This is a community with a growing and ageing population, so aged care, acute care and community health and wellbeing are vital. It is time to change this and build the healthcare facility that they deserve and need.