The Victorian Government is delivering faster emergency care for families across the state – reducing wait times and getting paramedics back on the road sooner.
Minister for Health Mary-Anne Thomas today visited Monash Health’s Clayton campus – one of 16 major health services across the state that will benefit from a $50 million investment, targeting ambulance offload times and emergency department patient flow.
Paramedics and emergency departments continue to face record demand, with more than 98,000 Code 1 lights and sirens callouts and more than 513,200 emergency department presentations in the last quarter.
It’s why Monash Clayton is receiving $4 million to establish an Acute Medical Transition Unit for frail or complex short-stay patients. This will allow for faster, direct transfers for rapid medical review and priority access to diagnostics and direct ward admission – improving patient flow and reducing emergency department congestion.
Eastern Health’s Box Hill Hospital will receive $6.9 million to add 12 inpatient beds in the emergency department, and more staff in medical, nursing and allied health roles – enabling earlier morning admissions from the emergency department, improving ambulance offload times and reducing ramping and the overall length of stay.
While in Geelong, $4.4 million will support Barwon Health to establish a Medical Day Hub – increasing inpatient capacity through additional medical and nursing roles for its Hospital in the Home program, medical day stay beds, and an expansion of its transit lounge.
With greater capacity, the health service can free up the emergency department for new patients, reduce wait times and avoid timely ambulance transfer delays.
Other hospitals across Melbourne that will benefit from this investment include Austin Health, Alfred Health, Western Health, Mercy Health, St Vincent’s Health, Royal Melbourne Hospital and Peninsula Health.
While in regional Victoria, services receiving funding include Goulburn Valley Health, Latrobe Regional Health, Grampians Health, Albury Wodonga Health and Bendigo Health.
It builds on initiatives currently underway in hospitals – including the implementation of the new Standards for Safe and Timely Ambulance and Emergency Care – to deliver faster care, support staff in busy emergency departments, and get paramedics back on the road sooner.
Since February, 80 per cent of participating health services, including Austin, Sunshine and Frankston hospitals, recorded an improvement in patient transfer times of more than four per cent by the end of the financial year.
The Victorian Virtual Emergency Department and Urgent Care Clinics are also continuing to help ease pressure, allowing Victorians access to the care they need while avoiding a trip to the emergency.