By BCH
AN AMBITIOUS plan to deliver a higher level of clinical care to the region’s mums and their babies, at the recently redeveloped Wonthaggi Hospital, is a top priority of Bass Coast Health.
As revealed by the health service’s Interim Chief Executive Officer, Simone Alexander, last Thursday, October 30, on the day the organisation’s $183 million annual report was tabled in State Parliament, Bass Coast Health is pursuing the maternity upgrade independently of the promised $290 million Stages 2 and 3 of Wonthaggi’s redevelopment.
It’s also an unashamed bid to have more babies born in Wonthaggi, especially those families forced away with higher needs.
Speaking at the annual general meeting of the Phillip Island Medical and Health Action Group (PIMHAG), Ms Alexander said that while she was delighted to see the new Phillip Island Community Hospital up and running, encouraging signs from the transition to Bayside Health, and progress being made with the Victorian Health Building Authority on the Master Plan, Feasibility Study and Business Case for Stage Two of the Wonthaggi Hospital Expansion; increasing the level of care for mothers and babies was top of the agenda.
“We’re passionate about providing a special level of care to our mums and babies, and we’re making application for a capability upgrade for that,” Ms Alexander told the PIMHAG members during a wide-ranging report on the health service at the Phillip Island RSL last week.
Speaking afterwards, she said hospitals statewide were accredited to
provide maternity and newborn services at various capability levels, and Wonthaggi was hoping to move up and expand services for the region’s mothers and their babies.
At present, all three South Gippsland/Bass Coast hospitals; Bass Coast Health (Wonthaggi), Gippsland Southern Health Service (Leongatha) and South Gippsland Hospital (Foster) are accredited to Level 3 maternity capability and Level 2 newborn capability whereas West Gippsland Healthcare Group (Warragul) is accredited to Levels 4 and 3 respectively and Latrobe Regional Hospital (Traralgon) to Level 5 and 4.
“The Department of Health already has our application, which is being considered independently of planning for the next stages at Wonthaggi,” Ms Alexander told the Sentinel-Times.
Her message to PIMHAG was all positive, highlighting the progress being made at the Phillip Island Community Hospital and Urgent Care Centre where there will be an Open Tour Day, by appointment, from 11am to 3pm on Saturday, December 13, 2025, ahead of an official opening for the new hospital, by Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas, early in the New Year.
Ms Alexander said the community hospital was already offering diagnostic services, including pathology and imaging on site, urgent care services, dialysis, day surgery, potentially including ophthalmology, day chemotherapy with oncology to come, and in stage 2 next year, two chairs for public dental health.
She said it had been an honour to carry on delivering former CEO Jan Child’s legacy to the Phillip Island community.
Also reporting on the transition for BCH into Bayside Health, Ms Alexander said it had been the community’s preferred option to go with the regional alignment with Peninsula Health and the Alfred, rather than Latrobe Regional, noting BCH was already seeing the benefits of a close working relationship with the Bayside group, ahead of full amalgamation of the services on January 1, 2026.
And setting the Wonthaggi Hospital up to take full advantage of its tie-up with the Bayside group, and visiting specialists and clinicians was “another piece of the puzzle”, stage one of the new Staff Accommodation facility, offering 20 rooms initially and ultimately 90 rooms in stages to follow.
Ms Alexander said the facility was taking shape next to Kirrak House, offering clinicians the opportunity to stay overnight and either continue with procedures the next day or follow up with patients.
Annual report tabled
Bass Coast Health tabled what will effectively be its last annual report in State Parliament last Thursday.
The report provides details of a service that is big and rapidly getting bigger, with total expenditure of $183 million, up from $165 million last financial year, and total employee expenses of $124.8 million.
By comparison, the Bass Coast Shire Council has a budget of $115 million, including $39 million in total employee expenses.
Bass Coast Health, which operates the Wonthaggi Hospital, Phillip Island Community Hospital, Kirrak House and Griffths Point Lodge aged care, as well as maternal and child health centres at
Corinella (Bass Valley), Cowes, Grantville, Inverloch, San Remo and Wonthaggi posted a net operating loss of $7.2 million for the 2024-25 financial year, a figure which includes $12.3 million in depreciation.
Coming up for Bass Coast Health
* Saturday, November 8: Annual BCH Ladies Auxiliary Fete at Wonthaggi Hospital
* Friday, November 21: Gala fundraising dinner and prize draw at Phillip Island Winery, event and raffle tickets via the BCH Facebook page
* Thursday, November 27: BCH AGM 2pm Silverwater San Remo
* Saturday, December 13: Phillip Island Community Hospital open tours 11am-3pm.