Western Health

07/09/2025

Happy Father’s Day to all the dads, stepdads, grandfathers, and father figures in our community. Today is a time to recognise and celebrate the many ways fatherhood is expressed and the special role it plays in our lives.

We also take a moment to remember the fathers who are no longer with us, and to keep in our thoughts those who may be missing their own dad today.

Wishing everyone a day filled with love, gratitude, and meaningful memories.

03/09/2025

💜 This Women’s Health Week, we’re celebrating two of our incredible doctors!

Congratulations to Dr Suzy Kosmider and Dr Grace Gard, who have been awarded a $50,000 grant for their project: ‘Saving Babies – Delivering best care to our WH families’.

This funding will help grow our STOP Clinic, supporting maternity patients to quit smoking, and creating healthier outcomes for mums and babies across Melbourne’s west.

A big thank you to the Women+ for Western Health Giving Circle, event sponsor Plenary Health and Western Health Foundation corporate partners Compass Group Aus, Fernwood Fitness, HR Advice Online, Maxxia Australia, and the Rotary Club of Footscray for making this initiative possible.

👏 Here’s to healthier futures for women and families in our community!


📸Dr Suzy Kosmider and Dr Grace Gard

01/09/2025

👩‍⚕️ Women’s Health Week Spotlight: Our Colposcopy Clinic 🩺

Every year, our incredible team performs more than 1,200 colposcopies – helping to detect and treat changes on the cervix before they can develop into cancer.

By tailoring appointment times to each woman’s needs, we make sure those who need urgent care are seen quickly. More than 90% of patients at Very High risk are seen within just two to four weeks.

💜 Early detection saves lives. This Women’s Health Week, we’re proud to celebrate the dedicated clinicians who support women in our community every single day.

Read more: https://bit.ly/47ETbh1

29/08/2025

💜 Today we’re celebrating Wear It Purple Day!💜

Our staff and volunteers have come together in purple to show support for our LGBTIQA+ staff, volunteers, consumers and community.

At Western Health, we’re committed to creating a safe, inclusive and welcoming environment for everyone.

Thank you to everyone who joined in today to stand for visibility, respect and equality.

28/08/2025

📸✨ Got an eye for capturing moments of calm and connection?

Entries are now open for the Footscray Hospital Photography Competition! With the theme 'Of Place - Connections to Nature & Wellbeing', we’re inviting our community to share photos that celebrate the natural elements of Melbourne’s west.

Your work could feature in an exhibition at the new Footscray Hospital and be displayed on digital screens across the hospital site when it opens in February 2026.

✅ Free to enter
✅ Open to ages 5+
✅ Entries close 15 October 2025

Find out more and submit your entry: footscrayarts.com/of-place-connections-to-nature-and-wellbeing/

The new Footscray Hospital photography competition is presented in partnership with Footscray Community Arts, Plenary Group, Lady Mohawk, Victorian Health Building Authority, the Victorian government, and Western Health.

25/08/2025

Our emergency departments at Sunshine Hospital and Footscray Hospital are currently experiencing increased demand, resulting in longer wait times for patients with non-life-threatening illnesses and injuries.

We want you to be seen as quickly as possible, so if you need care but it is not an emergency, please consider these alternative pathways to care:

▶️ For mild to moderate conditions, consider using the free video-based healthcare service Victorian Virtual Emergency Department at www.vved.org.au

▶️ Telephone NURSE-ON-CALL on 1300 60 60 24

▶️ Visit the following Priority Primary Care Centres at:

👉 Ground floor, 31 Edgewater Boulevard, Maribyrnong. Ph: (03) 9317 1717

👉 247-251 Station Rd, Melton. Ph: (03) 8746 0262.

👉 421 Ballarat Rd, Sunshine. Ph: (03) 8539 2772.

In a life-threatening medical emergency, please call Triple Zero (000) or attend the emergency department.

15/08/2025

Here at Western Health, we could not do what we do without the incredibly generous support of our community. ❤️🤝

Every year, our Western Health Giving Circle comes together to award $50,000 towards a project that helps patients in our community.

The projects in the running for this year’s funding are:

🔷 preventing heart attacks by helping patients manage their cholesterol
🔷 keeping patients out of hospital and in the community by supporting fracture recovery
🔷 helping patients quit smoking by supporting them with telehealth services

The $50,000 grant will be awarded at a dinner on Thursday 21st August 📅 at the Royal Victorian Motor Yacht Club, Williamstown.

You can support this incredibly important work by donating via the Western Health Foundation website, or by purchasing a ticket to the Pitch Night dinner.

Find out more at https://bit.ly/47BDXce

07/08/2025

“Food is more than just nutrition,” says Western Health dietitian Vanessa Carter. “It's comfort, it’s joy, and it brings healing in its own right.”

Vanessa and her colleague Vicki Barrington, along with patient representative Cuc Lam, spoke with Richelle Hunt on ABC Melbourne's The Conversation Hour today to discuss Western Health’s new ‘Not Just A Meal’ program.

‘Not Just A Meal’ is a program which creates hospital meals that better cater for our culturally diverse patients – based on their direct input.

After two years of development, ‘Not Just A Meal’ is about to hit a special milestone! The program’s very first co-designed menu item – congee – will be made available to patients on our wards later this month.

Click the link below 👇to listen to the Conversation Hour and find out more📻

Dieticians at Western Health are introducing a multicultural hospital meals program, in this edition of The Conversation Hour we explore the significance of food and how it connects to a sense of heritage and community. Also in this edition, what love letters can tell us about history, plus a discon...

28/07/2025

🎉 Nobody wants to spend their birthday in hospital.

But if it happens, our volunteer teams at Footscray and Sunshine want to make it special. 💛

On weekdays, our op shop volunteers write personalised cards for patients on their birthdays.

And then our visitor guides deliver them to the wards.

✨ Thi was among the Footscray Hospital patients to receive a special delivery this month.

From all of us at Western Health, happy birthday, Thi! 🎊👏

And thanks to our volunteer team – including Maureen, Josie and Gisene, pictured here – for spreading birthday cheer throughout the year.

24/07/2025

Today, on International Security Officers Day, we’d like you to meet some of the incredible members of the Western Health Security Team.

Every day, our security team plays a vital role in keeping our hospitals safe, respectful and welcoming.

With over 100 team members from more than 40 cultural backgrounds, ranging in age from their 20s to 80s, we’re proud of how our security officers work alongside clinical staff with a strong focus on de-escalation, collaboration and compassion to help support the best outcomes for everyone.

22/07/2025

💛 Grief Support Group – Melton 💛

Have you experienced the loss of a loved one? Our Grief Education Group offers a safe, supportive space to connect, heal and take care of yourself alongside others who understand.

🗓️ 6 August – 10 September
📍 Melton Community Services, 195-209 Barries Road, Melton West, Vic, 333
🕤 Wednesdays | 9.30 AM – 11.30 AM
💬 No cost to attend

👥 Facilitated by the Bacchus Marsh & Melton Counselling and Social Work Team

If you’re interested in joining, please call:
📞 Western Health Bacchus Marsh/Melton Intake on (03) 9747 7609
🕘 Monday to Friday | 9 AM – 5 PM

Remember, grief is normal, and grieving is important. You're not alone. 💛

21/07/2025

Major construction underway at the new Melton Hospital!

The new Melton Hospital project celebrated an exciting milestone today with the first official ‘sod turn’ on the site.

Western Health Board Chair Professor the Hon. Jill Hennessy, and CEO Professor Russell Harrison were joined onsite by the Victorian Premier, The Hon. Jacinta Allan, Minister for Health Infrastructure, The Hon. Melissa Horne, Minister for Health, The Hon. Mary-Anne Thomas, Minister for Mental Health, Ingrid Stitt and Member of Parliament for Melton, Steve McGhie, to mark the official start of major construction.

Supporting the areas of Caroline Springs, Bacchus Marsh, Rockbank, Melton, and Gisborne, Victoria’s first all-electric hospital will have the capacity to treat 130,000 inpatients annually and see almost 60,000 patients per year in the emergency department.

Due for completion in 2029, the state-of-the-art new hospital will create more than 2,400 jobs during construction and is expected to generate 3,975 direct jobs on-site in its first full year of operations.

Lendlease
Victorian Health Building Authority
Victorian Department of Health