Tuesday, 11 August 2026

 Rachel PAYNE (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (14:08): (2476) My constituency question is for the Minister for Health. A constituent, Jacqui, presented to Frankston Hospital emergency department with extreme abdominal pain on Monday 3 August. At triage she was advised that there would be a wait and that she would receive pain relief shortly. However, the pain relief did not arrive, and Jacqui was required to make multiple requests to different nursing staff before she received the medication. Jacqui was eventually taken through to a bed at 3 pm, approximately 14 hours after presenting to the emergency department and spending that time in the waiting room. She was subsequently diagnosed by doctors with pancreatitis. In the recent media release by the government it states that since the Frankston Hospital was redeveloped in January the hospital has increased by 130 beds, and an extra 35,000 patients are able to access care every year. So, Minister, my constituent asks: despite the large amount of money spent improving this hospital, why is it still lacking adequate emergency staff in the department so that it results in patients waiting for over 12 hours to be admitted?