Tuesday, 2 June 2026

 Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (14:26): (1330) My question is to the Minister for Health. Minister, last week at Mercy Werribee surgical beds were closed, surgery was cancelled and staff were being asked to take annual leave. Why are our hospitals closing beds and asking staff to take leave?

 Harriet SHING (Eastern Victoria – Minister for Ambulance Services, Minister for Health, Minister for Water) (14:26): Thank you very much, Ms Crozier. From time to time across health services and in response to need there may be changes to the way in which scheduled operations are run, and this is not something that is new or unique to Werribee Mercy. We do want to make sure that we are prioritising the safety of our workforce and that we are also managing the way in which patients are allocated to services based on the acuity of their need and any specific requirements they may have for treatment.

What I can say is that the additional funding for Werribee Mercy’s ED – the $95 million that is in this year’s budget – will enable that hospital to be augmented in the way in which it provides supports and services, and we do want to make sure that we can also manage the flow of patients through the system, whether it is from EDs to beds or from EDs through to discharge and to referral. We also want to make sure that we are in a position to provide that support to community and to other parts of the way in which the planned care system operates, including a variety of choices for patients and for clients and consumers. We want to make sure that we are delivering the sorts of changes to planned care and the sorts of improvements that have been identified with growth in demand, and this is where we will continue to work alongside Werribee Mercy Hospital to make sure that those needs are being met now and into the future.

I do want to also send my respect to the people who are working on the ground at Werribee Mercy, providing the level of care that they do to meet patients where they are and providing that level of support along the lines of the Health Services Plan and the way in which that prescribes the standards of care, which I am sure that you, Ms Crozier, would agree yourself are necessary and appropriate within a health system that must necessarily prioritise the safety of patients and the workforce above all else.

 Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (14:29): Minister, you said a lot, but you said absolutely nothing in that answer. Minister, isn’t it a fact that health services across the state are cutting services because your government has failed to properly manage the health system? You just said needs were needing to be met, but they are not being met. Beds are being closed; surgery after surgery is being cancelled.

 Harriet SHING (Eastern Victoria – Minister for Ambulance Services, Minister for Health, Minister for Water) (14:29): No.