Werribee father says he’s lucky to be alive, as the need for cheaper medical scans in the west rises
Calls for access to cheaper medical scans in Melbourne’s west are rising, with more than 250,000 residents in Werribee alone forced to travel as far as Geelong to access Medicare-subsidised machines.
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A Werribee father of four says he could have died after he was forced to waste crucial time travelling to Melbourne for vital medical scans.
Pat Catalfamo told the Leader an MRI likely saved his life last April after it revealed he had a brain haemorrhage.
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But with no Medicare-subsidised machines in Wyndham and facing bills of about $500 to get scanned at a private medical centre, Mr Catalfamo had to travel into the city to access the service.
“I went to my local doctor because I had this horrible headache that just wouldn’t stop — it was throbbing like someone had a hammer and was hitting me on the head,” he said.
“I had to go to Melbourne because there’s nothing here that could help me.
“It was a struggle to go all the way to the city, it’s not easy in the traffic and when you’re there parking is very, very expensive.
“It’s hard to arrange for family, the kids, to come and visit — it’s a massive inconvenience.”
Mercy Health chief executive Stephen Cornelissen said patients at Werribee Mercy Hospital needed immediate and affordable access to subsidised MRIs.
Labor last week pledged Werribee would get one of 20 licences slated for hospitals around Australia as part of an Opposition election promise.
The Coalition has committed to funding 30 licences across Australia if re-elected — including one for Epworth Geelong — but has yet to promise one will go to Werribee Mercy.
Mr Cornelissen said Wyndham’s population growth — which shows the area has now surpassed Geelong — “overwhelmingly spoke for itself”.
“Currently, more than 250,000 residents living in Werribee must travel to Geelong or Sunshine or across the city to access a Medicare-subsidised machine or otherwise face paying hundreds of dollars at a private medical centre,” he said.
“We have a situation where patients attend our emergency department requiring urgent scans and one of our options is to call an ambulance and have them transferred to a private clinic across the road.
“It is both an inconvenience for the patient and, in terms of ambulance use, an unnecessary burden for taxpayers.”
Mr Cornelissen said the opening of an Intensive Care Unit at Werribee Mercy last year meant critically ill patients could now be treated locally.
“An MRI located at the hospital would add another layer of reassurance that Wyndham residents were receiving the highest quality health care in their own municipality,” he said.
A spokeswoman for Health Minister Greg Hunt would not say whether Werribee Mercy would be given a licence under the Coalition.
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