Work to start on $20 million intensive care unit at the Angliss Hospital

A HOSPITAL upgrade in Melbourne’s outereast means criticially ill patients will be treated closer to home instead of being transferred to other hospitals.

The William Angliss Hospital where Daphne Pollock, 91, to wait 20 hours on a hospital trolley to be attended to.

CRITICALLY ill patients in the hills will soon be able to receive treatment closer to home thanks to a new $20 million intensive care unit at the Angliss Hospital.

Work on building a brand new fourth floor unit at the Upper Ferntree Gully hospital will start this July, with 20 new beds created — 14 for critical care patients and six in the short stay unit attached to the emergency department.

The paediatric ward at the hospital will also be refurbished.

The upgrade was a Labor election commitment. Deputy Premier James Merlino, who announced the works today, said it was one of the Government’s most important promises for the region

Ben Kelly, chief of clinical and site operations at the Angliss, said the work on the upgrade was expected to start in July and be completed by 2019.

Mr Kelly said the new unit would mean less patients would have to be transferred to Maroondah and Box Hill hospitals for treatment.

“This really enhances our capability, and it means that less patients will need to be transferred to sites that do have intensive care beds or greater high dependency area beds,” Mr Kelly said.

“The vast majority of people that I speak to would far rather receive all of their care at their local hospital.”

“Across Eastern Health we have over 150,000 emergency presentations every year and the Angliss accounts for more than 40,000 of those.

“So the Angliss is the smaller of our three hospitals, but it certainly sees a significant portion of the population and is dearly loved by the local community.”

Mr Merlino said the upgrade meant much more complex patient needs could be catered for at the hospital.

“The Angliss is much loved by the community and you need to make that continual investment (in it) because what the community rightfully expects is the very best health care close to where they live,” Mr Merlino said.

“It’s very exciting for the community, and I’m just delighted to able to get onto (this project) very quickly.”

In an unrelated funding cut, Eastern Health will lose $5.6 million and cuts to bulk billing incentives will hit patients with higher out-of-pocket costs for radiology services such as ultrasound, X-ray and MRI scans.

The Australian Diagnostic Imaging Association has estimated the cuts mean an X-ray will cost a patient up to $56 out-of-pocket, an ultrasound up to $101 and an MRI $173.

Set to take effect this month, the funding withdrawal is part of $73 million the State Government said was redirected. Federal Health Minister Sussan Ley said the loss of money had resulted ­because the Victorian Government had made an ­improper claim.