Goulburn Valley’s disability program exclusion decision slammed

By Monique Preston

Sep 28, 2022

Missing out: Member for Northern Victoria Wendy Lovell is not happy Goulburn Valley Health has not been included in the Pathways to Home Program. Photo by Rechelle Zammit

A decision to not include Shepparton in a new Victorian program to get people with disabilities from hospital back to their homes faster has been slammed by a local politician.

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State Member for Northern Victoria Wendy Lovell said the Victorian Government was ignoring the needs of local patients with a disability following its decision not to include Goulburn Valley Health in the new Pathways to Home Program.

Ms Lovell said the program was designed to get patients with a disability home quicker, thus freeing up hospital beds for other patients.

She labelled it a “disgrace” that Premier Daniel Andrews and Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas had failed to make the program available locally.

Ms Lovell said that while a number of regional hospitals had been included in the program, GV Health had been left off the list.

GV Health has a primary patient catchment of more than 116,000 and the program would not only open up more beds at GV Health but also reduce pressure on local healthcare workers and paramedics that are currently under stress, according to Ms Lovell.

“The omission of GV Health from the Pathways to Home Program is a slap in the face to local patients with a disability and proves Labor has no regard for the healthcare needs of the Goulburn Valley community,” she said.

“This program would have allowed local people with a disability to get home sooner and spend more time with their loved ones, and the decision to exclude patients in the Goulburn Valley is heartless and inexcusable.”