Eastern Health to temporarily close Angliss ICU for building works; concern it won’t reopen

Hospital insiders claim the decision to ‘temporarily’ close a busy intensive care unit will pose serious risk to patient safety, forcing many to travel up to 40 minutes for life-saving treatment.

A busy multimillion dollar intensive care unit at a Victorian public hospital is set to temporarily close in March with growing concern it may not reopen.

A source says staff at Angliss Hospital in Upper Ferntree Gully fear for patient safety because of the imminent removal of its ICU services and uncertainty about its future.

The ICU opened in 2018 as part of the Victorian Government’s $112 million expansion of the hospital which promised to “transform services, ensuring the Knox and Yarra Ranges communities could access world-class healthcare facilities close to home”.

Now Angliss ICU patients will need to travel up to 40 minutes via ambulance to Box Hill hospital for services. Specialist ICU staff are also to be redeployed.

The ICU at Angliss Hospital is set to temporarily close its doors in March, but insiders fears it may never reopen. Picture: Eastern Health

The source, who asked not to be named, said there was growing suspicion about the ICU’s future claiming other departments impacted by the building works, including some executive offices, were not closing.

The source told the Herald Sun Angliss Hospital’s liaison service, which supports ward staff with sick and deteriorating patients, will also temporarily close.

Angliss Hospital is part of Eastern Health. In a Change Impact Statement seen by the Herald Sun management said the ICU will close on 3 March for 20 weeks as part of redevelopment works to replace link corridors. The works are to expand the campus.

An Eastern Health spokesman told the Herald Sun that during construction access to the ICU would be inhibited.

“The practical solution to treat critically unwell patients includes treating all those suitable at the intensive care facilities at our Box Hill and Maroondah campuses,” she said. “A new model of care has been developed to ensure patient care will not be compromised.”

Shadow health minister Georgie Crozier has called on the Allan Government to guarantee that there would be no closure of ICU services and job losses. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

Asked for confirmation it would reopen, the spokesman said the reopening of the ICU was tied to the project completion in mid-2026.

Shadow health minister Georgie Crozier called on the Allan Government to guarantee that there would be no closure of ICU services and a loss of jobs. Ms Crozier said it would impact patient outcomes and the delivery of care.

“Under Labor our health system remains in crisis with ongoing uncertainty for communities and staff,” Ms Crozier said. “Labor can’t manage money, can’t manage health and it is Victorians who are paying the price.”

Angliss services cover the large communities south of Knox to the southwest of the Yarra Ranges, as well as Croydon and parts of Ringwood.

Lisa Fitzpatrick from the Victorian branch of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation said on behalf of its members the ANMF was seeking reassurance from management that the hospital will be retaining its important ICU service long term.

ICU patients from Angliss Hospital will be taken by ambulance to Box Hill during the temporary closure. Picture: David Geraghty

“It is very early in the consultation process and ANMF is now writing to Eastern Health outlining our members’ concerns, seeking a meeting and requesting further information about the proposed interim closure,” Ms Fitzpatrick said.

She said Eastern Health advised ANMF it was proposing to close its ICU at the Angliss Hospital for 20 weeks due to construction work.

The ANMF met with members last week to discuss their concerns around redeployment and the proposed model of care.

Last Friday the Allan government revealed how the state’s hospitals will be grouped under a controversial move to streamline resources.

It announced the Local Health Service Networks would be grouped together by geographic regions in a move dubbed “amalgamation by stealth”, although these claims were rejected by Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas.

Originally published as Eastern Health to temporarily close Angliss ICU for building works; concern it won’t reopen