Constituent’s Frankston Hospital Experience Raised in Parliament
Rachel Payne MP has used a constituency question to Parliament to highlight the experience of a local woman, Jacqui, who spent 14 hours waiting to be admitted to a bed at Frankston Hospital’s emergency department — despite the hospital’s recent redevelopment and expanded capacity.
What happened
Jacqui presented to Frankston Hospital’s emergency department with extreme abdominal pain on Monday 3 August. At triage, she was told there would be a wait and that pain relief would follow shortly — but it didn’t arrive, and she had to make repeated requests to different nursing staff before receiving medication. She wasn’t taken through to a bed until 3pm, roughly 14 hours after she first presented, having spent that entire time in the waiting room. She was later diagnosed with pancreatitis.
The question for the Minister
Rachel put Jacqui’s experience to the Minister for Health, noting that the government’s own recent media release states Frankston Hospital has added 130 beds since its redevelopment in January, giving an extra 35,000 patients access to care each year. Given that investment, her constituent’s question was direct: why is the emergency department still lacking adequate staff, to the point that patients are waiting more than 12 hours to be admitted?
Read the full question
The complete video and transcript of Rachel’s constituency question is available below.
Transcript:
Constituency Question — Frankston Hospital (11 August 2026)
Rachel PAYNE (South-Eastern Metropolitan): My constituency question is for the Minister for Health.
A constituent, Jacqui, presented to Frankston Hospital emergency department with extreme abdominal pain on Monday 3 August. At triage she was advised that there would be a wait and that she would receive pain relief shortly. However, the pain relief did not arrive, and Jacqui was required to make multiple requests to different nursing staff before she received the medication.
Jacqui was eventually taken through to a bed at 3pm, approximately 14 hours after presenting to the emergency department and spending that time in the waiting room. She was subsequently diagnosed by doctors with pancreatitis.
In the recent media release by the government, it states that since Frankston Hospital was redeveloped in January the hospital has increased by 130 beds, and an extra 35,000 patients are able to access care every year. So, Minister, my constituent asks: despite the large amount of money spent improving this hospital, why is it still lacking adequate emergency staff in the department so that it results in patients waiting for over 12 hours to be admitted?
