General News
30 March, 2023
Hopetoun hospital on hiatus
A regional hospital has been forced to shut down its urgent care service due to staff shortages. The temporary closure at the Hopetoun campus of Rural Northwest Health (RNH) was initiated on March 20 week becaue of a shortage of qualified and...
A regional hospital has been forced to shut down its urgent care service due to staff shortages.
The temporary closure at the Hopetoun campus of Rural Northwest Health (RNH) was initiated on March 20 week becaue of a shortage of qualified and appropriately skilled Registered Nurses.
To ensure patient safety, RNH has been working with key partners, including Ambulance Victoria, to put alternative pathways in place to ensure the community still has access to emergency care.
RNH chief executive Jenni Masters apologised to the Hopetoun community but said the decision was necessary to adhere to its commitment to high quality and safe care.
“We always strive to ensure our community has access to the care they need as close to home as possible, to ensure safe care for people,” she said.
“Taking into account the staff mix, and the shortage of health staff across Victoria, we’ve had to make this difficult but important decision.”
The temporary pause in Urgent Care service at Hopetoun will be reviewed daily as RNH actively works with neighbouring health services and health staff agencies to recruit more staff to ensure the safe recommencement as soon as possible.
“While clearly this is not what we want, our sole priority is patient safety and this is an effective alternative,” said Ms Masters.
“We will also do all we can to recruit necessary staff and will reinstate Urgent Care as soon as it is safe to do so.”
RNH chair Genevieve O’Sullivan endorsed the decision and said the Board was united behind the entire executive and every staff member at the health service.
“I acknowledge the work of all our staff who have helped us through challenging times, and their work to serve the community,” she said.
“I also thank the community for their patience and ask for their support while we do this essential work to ensure long-term quality care at RNH.”
For the interim, RNH has said that all community members should always call Triple Zero, 000, if someone is seriously injured or needs urgent medical help.
For non-life-threatening emergencies, community members can contact the state-wide Victorian Virtual Emergency Department (VVED) - a 24/7 service which provides patients access via video call to highly skilled emergency physicians, paediatricians, nurse practitioners and other specialists from the comfort of their home.
RNH has set up a dedicated space with access to the VVED service at the Hopetoun campus for residents who are unable to access the service from home, while Ambulance Victoria has also available to support people with access to the virtual system.
For more information on VVED, or to establish a video conference with the medical practitioner, visit www.vved.org.au/ , or call RNH on 03 5396 8200.
For the most up-to-date information on RNH’s Urgent Care service, visit www.rnh.net.au/