It might’ve been an exciting moment for many residents in Melbourne’s west, but for Maidstone couple Josh Preston and Sophia Tremethick, the opening of the new Footscray Hospital last Wednesday proved to be a let down.
The previous evening, the couple had been driving along Rosamond Road when they were caught up in a violent road rage incident that left Mr Preston with a badly cut lip.
After attending the nearby emergency department (ED) at the old Footscray Hospital, the couple were advised to wait until the following day when Mr Preston could receive treatment at the new hospital’s ED on its opening day.
But after waiting from 12pm-4pm on 18 February, the couple left with the gash in Mr Preston’s top lip still remaining and both of them wondering what the point of the $1.5 billion new hospital was.
“We came to the emergency department today for facial stitches, only to be told they don’t have a plastics team available to perform this type of treatment,” Ms Tremethick wrote in a comment left on Western Health’s Instagram page last Wednesday.
“What is the purpose of investing in such a large, modern hospital if essential specialist services aren’t available when patients need them?”
Mr Preston’s wound required plastic reconstructive surgery which the couple were told could only be done at Sunshine Hospital.
On Friday 20 February, Mr Preston was called in for surgery and is now recovering.
But speaking to Star Weekly afterwards, Ms Tremethick said it wasn’t just the lack of plastic surgery at the new hospital that was concerning, but the absence of paediatrics and maternity care
as well.
A spokesperson for Western Health said the new hospital was never supposed to have these services, with all three based at Sunshine Hospital and the neighbouring Joan Kirner Women’s and Children’s Hospital.
“Western Health continues to provide the same clinical services at the new Footscary Hospital that were previously provided at the former Footscray Hospital,” a Western Health spokesperson said.
The state government was contacted for comment.
