Premier Daniel Andrews has been transferred to The Alfred Trauma Centre after suffering a “nasty fall” at a holiday home on the Mornington Peninsula.
Poor Dan Andrews has had a year of bad news and now to top it all off, he’s broken several ribs and damaged vertebrae after slipping on some wet stairs.
The Victorian Premier landed on his back on Tuesday morning and was promptly rushed to the Peninsula Private Hospital in Langwarrin. After several scans, it was decided that Andrews should be moved to The Alfred hospital on Tuesday evening.
It is expected that Andrews will remain in intensive care for a few days, not returning to his duties until at least next week. Deputy Premier James Merlino will step up as acting Premier.
On his stint in intensive care, a spokesperson for the Premier said: “This is a precautionary measure to ensure he has the most appropriate care available given the nature of his injuries.”
Early this morning, I was admitted to hospital after slipping and falling on wet and slippery stairs. A CT scan has revealed several broken ribs and vertebrae damage, and subsequent medical advice has recommended I remain in intensive care for the next few days.
— Dan Andrews (@DanielAndrewsMP) March 9, 2021
“If you have broken ribs you can have damage to the lungs underneath it [which can] put people’s breathing at risk,” said Professor David Pilcher. “There is fairly well known pattern that people can look OK with broken ribs initially and then deteriorate over the first 24 and 48 hours, so that’s one of the reasons why we often bring them in to watch them.”
Whatever your politics, I know all Victorians and all Australians would wish Premier Dan Andrews an early and complete recovery from his injuries. My best wishes to Dan’s wife Catherine and their kids. https://t.co/59waWonE2h
— Kevin Rudd (@MrKRudd) March 9, 2021
In a statement, Andrews expressed his gratitude for Victorian health-care workers. “Cath, the kids and I are extremely grateful to the Ambulance Victoria paramedics who showed such care and kindness to our family this morning, as we are to the clinicians who have taken care of me today,” he wrote. “For now, we’d like to ask that our family’s privacy is respected.”
The injury signalled an abrupt end to Andrews’ three days of leave spent with his family over the long weekend. Victorian Parliament will sit next week however it is unlikely that the Premier will be in attendance.
