Hamilton Base Hospital CEO claims he was gagged by state government

The boss of an under-resourced regional Victorian hospital says he was silenced about exposing the “Third-World” conditions.

The boss of an under-resourced regional Victorian hospital claims the state government has attempted to silence him over speaking out about the “Third-World” conditions.

Hamilton Base Hospital created a 57-second campaign video pleading with the Andrews Government to grant more funding for an urgent upgrade to facilities they say are “Third-World” and endanger patients and staff.

In the video, posted to the hospital’s social media pages on Tuesday, healthcare workers described the building as outdated and overcrowded.

Western District Health Service chief executive Rohan Fitzgerald told the Herald Sun a longer version of the video was sent to Health Minister Mary Anne Thomas’ office on September 16 — after an August 9 letter revealing Western Health District would commit $15m themselves was ignored.

Mr Fitzgerald said they sent the video to give the minister an insight into the hospital’s conditions but received no response until last night — when the video went live — and a senior health department official advised him to take it down.

He said it was “concerning” that years of funding requests went unanswered but he was contacted the same day the public video was shared and told he was potentially in breach of caretaker arrangements.

The CEO and staff claim the hospital is cramped and cluttered.

“It’s concerning that the initial response is more about trying to suppress issues from being raised than it is taking the time to care about the human cost that is associated with doing nothing,” he said.

“In (20 years) I’ve never seen a point within healthcare where so few people are willing to be open about the issues.

“There is definitely a fear that exists amongst health service executives about retribution.

“There is nothing in the video that is of the political nature, it is a heartfelt plea from our staff for support to improve their conditions and their working conditions.”

Mr Fitzgerald said he was willing to risk losing his job and it wasn’t a decision the board took lightly but he had a responsibility to highlight the “horrendous” conditions his staff work in.

“We have tried every avenue that we can to have our voice heard as an organisation to secure the funding that is much needed for our local community,” he said.

“What more can we do as an organisation, we’ve done two feasibility studies, we’ve done a business case, we’ve had all the backroom meetings that we need to have, we’ve written to the minister.”

The hospital is seeking $17m from the state government, with the Western District Health Service committing $15m of their own funds.

It’s understood the health department and state government were consulted and plans for the upgrade were finalised.

Naomi McKay says she was reduced to tears.

Vipin Joseph says the hospital was “not fit” for an emergency department.

Mr Fitzgerald said they understood the minister was busy, but to not even receive a short response to say the proposal was being considered after the board made the “unprecedented” decision to offer up almost half the funding themselves was “incredibly disrespectful”.

“We were gutted,” he said.

Mr Fitzgerald has been the chief executive at Western District Health Service since 2014, and has previously held roles at other regional hospitals including Stawell and LaTrobe.

He was a candidate for the Liberals in the seat of Gippsland in 2008.

In the video, emergency nurse Naomi McKay said the hospital was cluttered and unsafe.

“I’ve been here for 20 years and I’ve seen this department the same and nothing has been done about it," she said.

“It makes me so angry … there’s no privacy, it’s horrendous.

“It makes me want to cry.”

Emergency nurse Vipin Joseph said the hospital was “not fit”.

“Anyone walking through this emergency department, which sees nearly 10,000 patients a year, would agree it’s not fit for an office space let alone being an emergency department,” he said.

Daniel Andrews said he was “not aware” of health department bureaucrats instructing the hospital to remove the video.

But the Herald Sun has confirmed the health department asked the hospital to take it down, arguing it could breach caretaker guidelines.

Mr Andrews on Wednesday said he was aware of the concerns raised by Hamilton Hospital but refused to address specific claims that parts of the facility fail “basic human rights”.

“I’m not here to provide commentary on commentary,” he said.

“My commitment, my record and our way forward is to keep working with every single hospital and we will do that to make sure they’ve got the facilities, the equipment and budgets they need.

The hallways are narrow, filled with people, equipment and sometimes beds.

“We’ve always invested strongly in hospitals the length and breadth of this state whether they be smaller hospitals in smaller communities or big teaching hospitals. They’re all important.

“There’s more that has to be done, there always is.

“I’ve got no announcements to make about any hospitals today but rest assured we work very hard with every single hospital, their staff and their local community.”

Opposition health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier claimed the Andrews government was attempting to “gag” the hospital.

“No government should ever politicise the needs of our hard-working healthcare staff. It demonstrates just how far the Andrews government will go to gag those speaking out on the failures within Victoria’s health system,” she said.

“It’s clear that years of underinvestment and mismanagement under Labor are having real impacts on Victorians who need and deliver vital healthcare services.

“Victoria cannot afford four more years of mismanagement and neglect under Daniel Andrews. Only the Liberals and Nationals will fix the health crisis and build the health system for the future.”

A government spokesman said they will “continue to work with Western District Health Service on the best solutions for the local community”.

“Our comprehensive workforce plan includes training and hiring thousands of nurses and paramedics, making it free to study nursing and building hospitals to provide the care Victorians need,” he said.

“We’ll always work with health services to upgrade facilities, recruit more staff and improve services.”

The Herald Sun understands the request to remove the video came from the health department — as opposed to the Health Minister’s or Premier’s office — due to concerns the video breached caretaker guidance.