New fund to fill Peninsula’s nurse skills gap

Mornington Peninsula residents will benefit from having more specially trained nurses at The Bays Hospital in Mornington after the launch of The Bays Nursing and Midwifery Education Fund. The fund – a partnership between Mornington Rotary Club and The Bays Hospital – will support The Bays nurses to undertake specialised training, which not-for-profit hospitals and nurses can struggle to pay for. Mornington Rotary has made an initial donation of $25,000 to the fund and invites members of the community to also contribute and support their community hospital.

The Bays Hospital CEO Jade Phelan said: “We are thrilled to have had the support of Mornington Rotary Club over many years, and have worked with them over the last year to identify the most worthy project for them to support into the future. Nurse education is certainly that.”

Mornington Rotary Club president Pam Hall said: “We have had a long relationship with our community hospital and are so pleased to support this initiative. The funds raised from our annual Mornington Art Show have enabled us to do this and we thank all the sponsors, artists and visitors that make it such a success.”

The Bays director of nursing Kellie Bamberry said: “We currently have a shortage of trained stomal therapy nurses on the Peninsula, and the training required for this costs around $12,000, so this will be a great boost. A stoma is a small opening in the abdomen that is used to remove body waste into a colostomy/ileostomy bag, which can be required after treatment for bowel cancer. Stomal therapy nurses provide specialist and individual care to patients living with colostomies and ileostomies. Stomal therapy nurses play a vital role in supporting patients with cancer or following cancer treatment, which is something The Bays is very passionate about.”

Ms Bamberry said The Bays’ next project was providing training for nurses to care for patients living with lymphoedema. “Access to lymphoedema specialist nurses is challenging on the Peninsula, so having this service available at The Bays would be of great benefit to Peninsula residents and hospital patients.”

The first scholarship through the fund was recently awarded to Justine Killen, a registered nurse at The Bays who is completing the post-graduate stomal therapy course.

Community members interested in donating to the fund may email fundraising@thebays.com.au or phone 5970 5329.