Hospitals stretched to the brink, health complaints soar during COVID crisis

Victorian hospitals were pushed to the limit during the COVID crisis with delays on elective surgeries blowing out wait lists.

Victorian icon Puffing Billy reopened on November 28. Picture: David Caird

The coronavirus pandemic pushed Victorian hospitals to the brink, delaying elective surgeries and impacting services across the board.

Elective surgery waitlists increased dramatically in the first half of the year due to the government reducing the non-urgent procedures.

As of June 30, Alfred Health had 2793 people waiting for elective surgery — almost 800 more than their target of 2000 — reports tabled to state parliament show.

Wait times at Northern Health and Peninsula Health had also blown out prior to the second wave, with 2273 and 2873 people left in limbo — more than their respective goals of 2100 and 2500.

Meanwhile Western Health was within their target of 4037, with only 3656.

All of the above health services met their 100 per cent target for urgent category 1 elective surgeries, except for Alfred Health, which was at 99.3 per cent.

Alfred Health — which includes The Alfred and Sandringham hospitals — performed 25 heart and 72 lung transplants.

HEALTH COMPLAINTS REPORTS SURGE

The state’s health complaints commissioner received an influx of reports in the past year, with most relating to medical staff, safety and treatment.

Almost 5900 complaints and 3500 inquires were sent to the regulatory body in the year to June 30, resulting in the Commissioner dishing out 78 orders and 107 code breaches.

The complaints also sparked 56 investigations, including two, which ministers referred — with half of them finalised this year.

Hospitals tallied 1657 complaints, with public-run organisations bearing most of the brunt and accounting for 1444 of all hospital-related grievances. A further 213 related to private hospitals.

Most complaints were in relation to medical practitioners, including general practice and surgery, and dentists and psychologists.

Overall, 41 per cent of ­people who attended a general health provider and filed a complaint were concerned about their service not being ethical or safe, while an extra 17 per cent feared they had been financially exploited.

Puffing Billy carried 158,130 fewer people in 2020 than the year before.

TRAIN PLAN GETS LEG UP

Puffing Billy was thrown a $2 million lifeline by the state government after bushfires and coronavirus lockdowns ravaged the business of the popular tourist attraction.

In its latest annual report, Emerald Tourist Railway Board recorded a massive hit in the 2019-20 financial year from total fire ban days and the fact it could not receive any income from March 23.

Puffing Billy carried 158,130 less people than the year before and total patronage fell down to 329,118, its lowest result since 2012.

The Andrews Government provided $2 million in funding to see the business through this period, with discussions about additional support also flagged.

“Further short to medium term funding options continue to be considered by the State Government,” the report reads.

But in good news for local visitors, the board also said the much-loved tradition of passengers dangling their legs out the windows of the train was likely to return.

“Locked international borders gives us a great opportunity to attract our domestic market, with more attractive offerings at affordable pricing and the return of Puffing Billy Railway’s unique sitting on the sills experience,” the report reads.

Financial statements show the board is preparing for a significant amount of income not to be paid, with $328,912 in doubtful debts earmarked in 2020.

Former V/Line executive James Pinder stood down from the board in August after it was revealed he was at the centre of a major corruption probe.

Mr Pinder was later alleged to have engaged in serious misconduct in his dealings with V/Line and Metro contracts for cleaning company Transclean.

V/Line train joruneys fell by nearly 20 per cent. Picture: Ian Currie

V/LINE

V/Line paid out more than $147,000 in compensation to passengers for late or disrupted services in the last financial year despite losing nearly a fifth of its customers because of coronavirus.

Newly released figures show there 17.93 million journeys across the regional rail network in 2019-20, a fall of nearly 20 per cent.

This led to the government-owned corporation losing about $24 million in farebox revenue than the year before.

V/Line’s annual report also makes mention of the major corruption scandal that engulfed its former chief executive James Pinder.

Mr Pinder resigned from the role after a week of public hearings in which he discussed bribes for pandemic cleaning work and allegedly received bundles of cash from the head of a company that secured the contracts.

In V/Line’s latest annual report, chair Gabrielle Belle writes that the board will await the final outcomes of the investigation.

“The Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) has initiated an anti-corruption investigation into allegations of serious corrupt conduct in Victoria’s public transport sector,” she wrote.

“The Corporation will consider the findings and recommendations of IBAC upon completion of the investigation.”

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

Odour and noise complaints to the EPA increased in 2019/20 with more people stuck at home during the pandemic.

From January to July 2020, noise reports more than doubled while hundreds of additional reports of odd smells from landfills and waste companies were reported with Casey, Hume, Brimbank and Dandenong the main areas impacted.

Overall the EPA received 4,489 odour reports in 2019–20.