NURSES and medical staff at Hamilton Base Hospital are appealing for funding from the State Government to upgrade the emergency, intensive care and radiology departments.

With 55 years of nursing experience between them, emergency department (ED) and intensive care unit (ICU) nurse unit manager, Kathy Ross and associate nurse unit manager, Rowena Farquharson said the hospital upgrade was vital.

Since 2012, Western District Health Service (WDHS) has appealed to the State Government for a $29 million refurbishment but hasn’t had success. 

Ms Ross said for nurses and medical staff working in these areas, the need was becoming critical.

“We’ve got major issues with overcrowding, both due to an increase in the number of staff rostered in ED, as well as more and more patients with higher care needs,” she said.

“On a daily basis we are finding that we are having to move ED patients into overflow areas in ICU and other wards, because we just don’t have the beds to accommodate them.

Ms Ross said the storage situation was challenging and staff were constantly shifting equipment and medical supplies to make way for patients and procedures.

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