Barwon Health has “watered down” plans for urgent care services at a long-delayed Norlane health centre currently under construction, according to union accusations.
“It’s going to be a much lower level of care than originally promised,” said Andrew Hewat, assistant secretary of Victorian Allied Health Professionals Association.
Successive state governments have touted “urgent care” facilities at the $33 million Barwon Health North centre, initially scheduled for completion in 2017, to relieve pressure on Geelong’s public emergency department (ED).
But a Barwon Health staff document released this week instead outlines a “walk in service” with no mention of “urgent care”.
“Instead of doing it properly they’re scrambling to get the centre open by 13 January,” Mr Hewat said.
A nurse practitioner, a highly-advanced registered nurse, will lead the service with no dedicated doctor onsite, according to the document.
“Originally (Barwon Health) told us (the unions) they would have doctors from the hospital go out there – that it would be a low-level ED,” Mr Hewat said.
“Then they were trying to tender out GP services and there were no takers. The end result is a significantly watered-down service that’s not going to have any doctors attending patients at all.”
Mr Hewat compared the proposed service to a “bush” clinic and said it failed to meet local meet community expectations.
“I suspect they’re going to have significant problems with people presenting expecting to see a doctor.”
The service’s only doctor will be an ED physician at University Hospital Geelong providing support via “telehealth consultations”, according to the document.
“It’s basically going to be a Skype call … if they’ve got something they can’t deal with,” Mr Hewat said.
Mr Hewat also questioned the service’s opening hours of 8am to 10pm, given a “high overnight demand” for non-emergency urgent care treatments it would offer.
But a spokesperson for Health Minister Jenny Mikakos denied the accusations.
“The Barwon Health North facility will include an urgent care centre with after hours services – exactly as promised,” they said.
“This service will provide treatment for a range of non-emergency illnesses and injuries – as always planned.
“This will make a real difference in reducing the number of patients attending the University Hospital Geelong ED.”
Patients from Corio Inner statistical local area (STA) accounted for 26.8 per cent of presentations to University Hospital Geelong’s ED in 2018/2019, the Barwon Health staff document stated.
Patients from the STA, stretching from North Geelong to Lara, were increasing by 5.6 per annually and were set to reach 21,750 in 2019/2020, it said.
