On April 1, 2020, Victorian Premier Dan Andrews announced that a $1.3 billion cash injection had been earmarked “to quickly establish an extra 4,000 ICU beds” as a response to the coronavirus pandemic and to “protect Victorian lives”.
However, when questioned as to the whereabouts of these beds 18 months later, the Victorian Premier infamously claimed “that wasn’t announced at all,” despite the existence of both a press release and video footage of his announcement.
After enduring the world’s longest lockdowns and being repeatedly told to “play our part” to ease pressure on the healthcare system, Victorians should now be asking Mr Andrews: ‘What have you done to ease the pressure on the health care system? And what responsibility are you willing to take for the negative outcomes?’
Victoria’s Acting Health Minister, James Merlino, announced that the Pullman Hotel in Melbourne’s CBD and the Mantra Hotel in Epping would start to receive COVID patients this week.
However, experts like The Australian Medical Association’s (AMA) Vice President, Chris Moy, believe that housing COVID-positive patients in Victorian hotels is not a fit-for-purpose solution.
“And then it’s going to be quite a burden on staff there to make sure everyone is OK.”
With more than 245,000 active cases of COVID across the state and 1,229 Victorians currently hospitalised with COVID, the 4,000 ICU beds that were promised almost two years ago would have provided a lot more peace of mind than the 450 ICU beds that currently exist in the state.
There has been a complete and utter lack of accountability by the Andrews Government throughout the pandemic, which has been compounded by an intentional lack of transparency.
Evidence of this behaviour can be found littered throughout the 500-page report into Victoria’s deadly hotel quarantine bungle that failed to identify anyone responsible for the decision to use private security guards.
Reason being, it is hard to trust science when the public health advice is purposefully being hidden and the State government is blocking Freedom of Information (FOI) requests for this information in court.
The announcement to convert quarantine hotels into makeshift hospitals is just the latest in an ongoing slew of half measures that are barely questioned by media outlets but continue to place Victorian lives in jeopardy.
In response to the announcement of the new quarantine/hospital hotels, Opposition Health spokesperson, Georgie Crozier, believes that the blame for Victoria’s current health care crisis should rest with the Andrews government.
“It is because of Daniel Andrews’ under-investment, lacking planning and preparation,” she said.
“We are seeing our hardworking healthcare workers who are again the ones being put under enormous pressure.”
This is hilarious… Where is the condemnation for the waste of space PM who instead of “following the science” has inundated our country with Covid cases? Instead of building dedicated quarantine facilities, and enforcing strict border control into the country, instead insisted on continually changing the goal posts, reclassifications of “close contacts” and this ridiculous “let it rip” strategy, when no one was prepared accordingly, before making that decision! Wouldn’t you think they would have the RAT tests available and in place and PCR clinics adequately staffed, with contingency plans, first?
It is the Feds who have continually put our country at risk, time and time again. Ruby Princess, Systemic Aged Care failures for the last (at least) 20 years I have been in the industry, resulting in the deaths of over 800 people in aged care in 2020’s first year of the pandemic, NSW bungled mockdowns, failure to secure the vaccine in a timely fashion, hesitation, leaving us last in the world to be vaccinated… the list goes on and on!
Blaming Dan is a cop-out. The Feds put the country at risk and are looking for a scapegoat! Blind Freddy can see that. Besides – please tell me, what good are 4000 new beds without the staff to attend to them???
All levels of government have dropped the ball..at our expense of course.
In Canberra where we work the ACT health department advised that the swabs ordered for today aren’t coming and RATs would be our best option. They went on to say that they won’t be notifying us of Covid positive cases. In fact they are now simply refusing to help. Of course they bring up the old chestnut “you are federally funded” so ask them. They choose to forget that they are also federally funded.
While I am totally disgusted in the federal government’s garbled self gratifying response to covid my vitriol is aimed at the states.. they are the ones that made infected residents stay in nursing homes to infect others.. they are the ones that refused to allow covid nursing home residents access to hospital and as such are as responsible for the deaths as is the covid disease.
All Australians have always had access to hospital services…but not now when it’s needed the most.
An election is coming up…don’t forget the Morrison mess and the absolute disregard for elderly Australian lives… I won’t.
My God, you are seriously deluded and obviously an extremely biased individual with absolutely no concept of reality.
What a totally biased article, quoting the opposition blaming Dan, when they have been screaming to open up and “let it rip” since 2020!
Yet here we are now, with 95% double vaccinated and as part of the National Plan, pushed so heavily by the Prime Minister, we have opened up, and our hospitals are barely coping. If it wasn’t for Dan Andrews leadership and willingness to hold the line with lockdowns until we were all vaccinated, we would have hundreds dying every day for the past 12-18 months.
Everyone knows its not the beds that are the problem, its having the medical personnel to look after the people in them, which is impossible considering 5,000 are at home with Covid. And whose fault is this? The Federal Government who dropped the ball with the vaccine roll-outs and now supplies for testing. If we had all been vaccinated by early 2021, as was promised by Greg Hunt, Delta would never have killed hundreds of people or caused most of the country to be locked down for months on end. If people could easily get their hands on free RATs like in every Western country, we wouldn’t have so many people unable to be tested & spreading the virus through the community, causing more damage to the economy than lockdowns ever did.
Its about time we stopped blaming the State Premiers for anything Covid related (NSW excepted), and remember that every step of this pandemic, the public have been sacrificed by the Federal Government, due to their greed and incompetence!
I still want to know what happened to the beds, if not the beds, is the money still there or has it disappeared? He keeps dodging the questions.
OMG, you are seriously deranged claiming Daniel Andrews “held the line” and saved hundreds of lives. The fact is Victoria endured the most arduous prolonged lockdown IN THE WORLD and had the highest death count in Australia. You seriously need a reality check and cease your extremely biased opinion.
This is hilarious… Where is the condemnation for the waste of space PM who instead of “following the science” has inundated our country with Covid cases? Instead of building dedicated quarantine facilities, and enforcing strict border control into the country, instead insisted on continually changing the goal posts, reclassifications of “close contacts” and this ridiculous “let it rip” strategy, when no one was prepared accordingly, before making that decision! Wouldn’t you think they would have the RAT tests available and in place and PCR clinics adequately staffed, with contingency plans, first? It is the Feds who have continually put our country at risk, time and time again. Ruby Princess, Systemic Aged Care failures for the last (at least) 20 years I have been in the industry, resulting in the deaths of over 800 people in aged care in 2020’s first year of the pandemic, NSW bungled mockdowns, failure to secure the vaccine in a timely fashion, hesitation, leaving us last in the world to be vaccinated… the list goes on and on!
Blaming Dan is a cop-out. The Feds put the country at risk and are looking for a scapegoat! Blind Freddy can see that. Besides – please tell me, what good are 4000 new beds without the staff to attend to them???
Pic ID: Article features a photo of a seemingly angered Dan Andrews.
By Krystal Leef
So where did the money go for the beds? Being a tax payer that gets absolutely nothing from the government and pay our taxes I consider this is mine as much as any other Victorian citizens money and if he didn’t use it on said beds then where did it go.?
This is exactly what I have been trying to find out too! I just contacted Rebel News to see if they could track the answer down.
“despite hitting record numbers for hospitalisations over the last week” does not seem to be a true statement.
From the Victorian Department of Health media release on 20th Jan 2022:
https://www.health.vic.gov.au/media-releases/coronavirus-update-20-january-2022
“There are 1,206 COVID-19 cases in hospital in Victoria – with 86 active cases in ICU, including 40 on a ventilator, and 36 cleared cases in ICU”
From todays update on https://www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/
“301 cases in hospital”
“Data last updated Wednesday 9 November 2022”