’Overwhelmed’: Staff shortage at Mildura Base Public Hospital leads to Code Yellow

A Mildura father says he struggled to find a doctor for his sick daughter after a Code Yellow emergency was declared.

Mildura father Dave Grant said he has struggled to access healthcare for his daughter Kirah Fox. Photo: Supplied.

Healthcare staff shortages and long delays at local GP clinics in Mildura, in northwest Victoria, are leaving patients stressed and waiting days to see a doctor.

A Mildura father said he waited hours in emergency with his sick daughter on Tuesday and Wednesday as his understaffed local hospital hit capacity and turned patients away.

Mildura Base Public Hospital chief executive Terry Welch said the hospital had been forced to make “a really serious decision” to declare a Code Yellow on Tuesday.

“We’ve called a Code Yellow. That’s a response for an internal emergency, and we’ve called it simply because we’re out of capacity,” he said in a statement. The hospital lifted the Code Yellow on Thursday afternoon.

There were 60 staff off duty at MBPH this week due to “Covid and Covid-related illnesses”, Mr Welch said.

State government data showed there were 483 active Covid cases in the Mildura region on Friday, with 83 confirmed in the past 24 hours.

The hospital was still down 60 staff as of Friday, and had “reached out to the (health) department for support”, a MBPH spokesman said.

“At the moment we are coping”, the spokesman said.

Mildura MP Ali Cupper said the fact the hospital had been “overwhelmed” highlighted that “the pandemic isn’t over and it comes with a serious flu season”.

“Compounding this, Mildura’s emergency department is smaller than it needs to be for a population of this size,” she said.

Ms Cupper has advocated for a new hospital for Mildura. The State Government has funded a master plan for a new hospital, which was due to be completed by the end of April and is now expected to be completed by the end of June, according to Health Minister Martin Foley.

Mildura father Dave Grant said he has struggled to access healthcare for his daughter Kirah Fox. Picture: Supplied.

FAMILIES “VERY CONCERNED”

Mildura father Dave Grant said the Code Yellow declaration at MBPH was combined with long delays to see a local GP, which had left his family “really concerned” about his daughter’s welfare.

Mr Grant attended MBPH on Tuesday night with his nine-year-old daughter, Kirah Fox, who had abdominal pain and wasn’t eating.

Mr Grant said he waited three hours before being told he could be facing another six- to eight-hour wait and he should take his daughter to a GP.

The earliest booking he could secure at a GP was on Friday afternoon, three days after he attended the hospital.

On Wednesday, Kirah was still in pain and refusing to eat, so he took her back to the hospital and waited six hours before again being told to seek a GP appointment.

A MBPH spokesman said the hospital was unable discuss individual cases because of patient confidentiality.