By Luke Voogt
A new $2 million CT scanner in Geelong “has no staff to run it”, according to Victorian Allied Health Professionals Association.
Association assistant secretary Andrew Hewat on Wednesday made the allegation, which Barwon Health chief executive officer Ruth Salom described as “misleading”.
“We have a brand new, world-class CT scanner sitting idle with no staff to run it while the Emergency Department suffers daily bed-block,” Mr Hewat said.
“The public won’t get to see the machine as Barwon Health refuses to employ the necessary staff needed to operate it.“
A meeting of the association at Barwon Medical Imaging voted unanimously against Barwon Health opening the machine “without the staff to operate it”, Mr Hewat said.
“The lack of respect for staff by the (executive) makes a mockery of Barwon Health’s values and has led to a loss of confidence in the leadership.”
Mr Hewatt also accused Professor Salom of blocking an application for a full Medicare bulk-billing MRI licence for the $33 million Barwon North medical facility under construction at Norlane.
“The decision to block an application for a fully-funded Medicare MRI license is bewildering,” he said
“Senior hospital medicos are dumbfounded by this decision that will see this opportunity lost, depriving Geelong’s northern suburbs of this much-needed service.”
But Prof Salom denied Mr Hewats’ claims.
“The (association’s) media release is misleading and we invite their representatives to meet with us to discuss their issues,” she said.
“I am working closely with the director of Barwon Medical Imaging to finalise our two applications for additional MRI licences.”
Barwon Health was seeking to upgrade a half licence they currently had at the hospital to a full licence, and to apply for a full licence at Barwon Health North facility, Prof Salom said.
“This expansion of our bulk-billed MRI services will address the growing demand in our community for MRI driven by the burgeoning Geelong population.”
The allegations are part of a several-month-long dispute between Barwon Health and the association, which has accused Prof Salom of having of an “agenda” to privatise local health services.
