Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley has slammed Opposition Leader Matthew Guy's visit to Portland in south-west Victoria this week as "closed-meeting politics".
It is the second time he has accused the Liberal party of weaponising concerns about the hospital for political gain, after multiple attempts by South West Coast MP Roma Britnell to raise the matter in parliament.
Mr Guy attended a forum on Tuesday in Portland, along with Ms Britnell and shadow health minister Georgie Crozier.
During the forum, a number of residents aired their concerns about service closures and disruptions at Portland District Health (PDH), and criticised the Health Minister for failing to speak with them during a fly-in, fly-out visit last month.
But when quizzed by the ABC, Mr Foley said it was nothing but politics.
"I visited Portland hospital to talk to the Portland hospital leadership and clinicians about the fantastic job the Portland District Health service does in that community," Mr Foley said.
"What PDH's issues were, were in leadership and the systems they had in place.
"Now that has now been addressed by the new board, the new leadership of that hospital and this government has backed them with record funding to make sure those services are precisely what the people of the Portland community want.
Mr Foley said the suspension of Portland's birthing services until September, which is double original projections, was a symptom of global midwife shortages.
Portland District Health also was not invited to the forum.
A spokesman for the service said the hospital was working to implement every aspect of the Hillis Review but it would take "many years."
"As we have previously stated, the model for how we deliver care must change, and this has the full commitment from the PDH board and executive. However, the changes recommended by the Hillis Report cannot be actioned overnight."
'This shouldn't be happening'
Two years on from her sister Karen's death, lifelong Portland resident Lesley Yuill felt compelled to tell her story about the health service.
After suffering a stroke at a Portland pool, Karen was taken to Portland District Health, then to Warrnambool, and flown onto Melbourne.
The next day she died.
"The first hour of treatment is crucial. They didn't have the equipment or the doctors here, Warrnambool couldn't take her, and by the time she'd got to Melbourne she'd had another hemorrhage and passed away," Ms Yuill said.
"We're a long way from Melbourne and that's why it's so important to have a good hospital service here.
"In this day and age, this should not be happening, it's not the dark ages."
She was just one of many residents who shared their experiences with PDH at the forum.
'Could go blind' waiting for surgery
Jo Panchen who moved from Melbourne to Portland to raise a family in the country also spoke at the forum.
She said she never imagined the move would mean she would receive worse healthcare than she did in the city.
She was due for major surgery but was downgraded due to a lack of services in Portland.
She now lives with significant pain and will wait another year to be treated.
"They basically said, 'We don't have a general surgeon I'm effectively confident with. We don't have a transfusion service if something goes wrong and we don't have an intensive care unit. I highly recommend you look at going somewhere else'," she said.
"He referred me to Warrnambool, I got a letter from Warrnambool on Friday to basically say 'you're now category three'. I was category one, now I'm three with a 12-month wait."
Macarthur man Greg Malseed says he fears he will go blind after the region's only ophthalmologist resigned which has further delayed his eye surgery.
"It means I'm on the waiting list of at least three months, that's at the earliest just for a surgical waitlist," he said.
"My sight is deteriorating. I could go blind before I get it, I don't know."
Give them money, Opposition says
Mr Guy and Ms Crozier did not make any commitments during the meeting.
"If they need more money then give it to them," Mr Guy said, criticising the Andrews Labor government.
"The priority is health; the priority is delivering babies safely. If it requires more money, then do it."
Ms Crozier, also a midwife, stopped short of outlining tangible solutions but said the service needed government support.
"If the doctors are saying we're here, we want to work, then get them in place. Don't shut them out," Ms Crozier said.
"They have the staff here, and they'll need more we understand that, but they need more support from the government instead of being pushed away which is what's happening at the moment."
