Cowes hospital brings care closer to home

Phillip Island Community Hospital is finally complete, and it celebrated the completion of its build with an official opening in Cowes on Monday, October 19, as patients already receive some of the services that previously required a trip off the island.

Councillors and government representatives joined hospital workers, board members and local residents at the hospital in some hot weather to celebrate the completion of Stage 2.

The ceremony marked a formal milestone, but for patients, the changes are already simply a part of everyday life.

Dialysis and day surgery are among the services available at the hospital, which forms part of Bayside Health.

Regional CEO Louise Sparkes said receiving dialysis locally was reducing travel for patients whose treatment already took up much of their day.

Previously, they had to travel off the island several times a week, adding an hour or more to each treatment day.

“And what those people talk about is being able to either walk in, or be driven by a spouse or a friend five minutes down the road,” Ms Sparkes said.

Phillip Island dialysis patient Stephen Douglas described how exhausted he could feel after treatment.

“You walk out of the clinic feeling like someone pulled the master plug on your energy,” he said.

“Your brain feels foggy and your limbs feel like lead weights.”

The hospital also provides diagnostic imaging and pathology, with specialist outpatient appointments, allied health services and Clinical Nurse Consultant clinics available.

For someone needing an X-ray, that means they can have it on site, when previously, patients could be sent elsewhere for imaging.

Member for Bass Jordan Crugnale said local treatment will allow people to stay near their family and friends.

“They can get the care that they need so close to home,” she said.

And with the motorcycle Grand Prix approaching, the hospital is preparing for another busy period on the island, which Ms Sparkes said the facility is now well equipped to handle.

Ms Sparkes said the expanded 24-hour Urgent Care Centre offered more room than the previous four-bed facility, allowing staff to increase capacity when visitor numbers swelled.

She said having a clinician available around the clock also reassured residents, even when patients needed treatment elsewhere.

“And even if they get here and we can’t treat them, we can get them ambulance transport off the island if they need it,” she said.

Monday’s opening also recognised the residents and organisations who had pushed for the hospital.

Bayside Health Board Chair Professor Martin Foley acknowledged the Phillip Island Community Consultative Committee and the Phillip Island Medical and Health Action Group, alongside the Phillip Island Health Hub Auxiliary and the Victorian Government’s investment.

“This project reflects years of advocacy, collaboration and shared commitment from local people who believed Phillip Island deserved greater access to healthcare,” Prof Foley said.

The build is complete, but some services are still to come.

Ms Sparkes said a pain clinic would open soon, with oncology and chemotherapy services likely to begin towards the end of this year or early next year.