Nationals Member for Ovens Valley Tim McCurdy spoke in Parliament last week requesting the Minister for Health provide more resources and support for our regional nurses and health services.
In Parliament, Mr McCurdy said, “I spoke to a local resident of Wangaratta who after celebrating her 80th birthday started to feel unwell and was concerned about her health.
“She called Nurse-on-Call and was told that she should get to the doctors fairly soon. The doctors were all booked out, so she proceeded to drive herself to the emergency centre as she felt well enough to do so and didn’t trust the ambulance.
“This resident then waited in the emergency centre for 2 hours. After the long wait she decided to get up and leave for home, hoping she would get better. Whilst she was leaving the Nurse-on-Call approached her and stopped her from leaving – which was lucky because this resident was diagnosed as having a ministroke.”
He continued, “Nurses like the one in this story are the only reason our hospitals are still kicking. Without their hard work and dedication people like this resident would be missed.”
Mr McCurdy said, “It’s time the Victorian Government and the Minister for Health listen to our nurses, our patients, and our health services within our regional communities.
“This scenario could have gotten out of hand very quickly, we urge the minister to take our concerns very seriously.”