News
17th July, 2022
Victorian Government Hospital Funding Package
The Victorian Ambulance Union welcomes today’s funding announcement from the Victorian Government which includes sensible and targeted measures aimed at key areas of the health system that are under strain. Many of the funded initiatives are items that the VAU, alongside other health unions, have advocated for, to reduce the bottlenecks at key points in the health system that ultimately lead to delays in ambulance care.
Health services have dealt with unprecedented strain over the past three years due to the pandemic. The VAU have been advocating that Government look beyond simply recruiting more paramedics but to focus on the areas in the health system that are stopping our paramedics from performing their role such as hospital ramping and responding to non-urgent cases.
Funding commitments announced today include:
- New paediatric GP respiratory clinics at Monash and Royal Children’s Hospital.
- Emergency department triage consultants at hospital triage.
- GPs in hospital waiting rooms.
- More allied health staff to assist with hospital discharge.
- Nurse practitioners and waiting room nurses.
- New patient flow roles in hospitals to assist in clearing emergency department beds.
Hospital discharge navigators to assist with timely discharge of patients.
We are pleased to see targeted investment aimed at improving the flow of patients through hospitals to free up emergency department beds so that our crews can offload their patients and respond to cases in the community. We are pleased to see a strong focus on the broader issues in the health system that ultimately assist our members in responding to emergency patients.
Quotes attributed to Danny Hill
“There are models in the UK where emergency department consultants were placed at triage which led to a massive reduction in ambulance ramping during COVID waves. When the Victorian Government asked for ideas on how to improve ramping, we advocated for the Leeds model and it’s good that its being trialled in Victoria”.
“AV and our hospitals have dealt with unprecedented demand over recent months. But it is often patients normally treated by GPs who are turning to AV and emergency departments for the care they need. Putting GPs in ED waiting rooms and setting up GP paediatric respiratory clinics is smart”.
- Media Contact
- Danny Hill
- General Secretary – Victorian Ambulance Union (VAU)
- Mobile: 0419 965 856
- Email: [email protected]