Victoria’s ambulance crews were pushed into serious code-orange situations 20 times in May due to the rising rates of respiratory illness, as the number of COVID-19 patients in hospitals doubled in a month.
Ambulance Victoria says influenza cases alone have increased by 65 per cent in the past fortnight across the state.
Ambulance Victoria resorted to code-orange protocols 20 times throughout May.Credit: Wayne Taylor
There are 361 COVID-19 patients in hospital, more than double the 170 patients who were hospitalised with the virus at the same time last month. Twenty-one of those patients are in intensive care, with eight on ventilators.
Ambulance Victoria’s director of emergency management, Justin Dunlop, said the start of winter was a “particularly bad time” for the spread of respiratory illnesses statewide, and that put more pressure on the health system.
A code orange – the classification under the most serious code-red scenario – was called every day in the past week, and on 20 occasions since the start of May. Dunlop said it was vital the public called for an ambulance only in an emergency.
Under code-orange protocols, the entire healthcare system is warned about the high demand on ambulances, and extra staff are asked to work.
Ambulance Victoria’s Justin Dunlop has asked people to avoid unnecessary triple-zero calls.Credit: Chris Hopkins
“We certainly have been experiencing extreme demand over the past few days this week,” Dunlop said on Friday.
“We’re taking every measure we can to prevent that impacting on our response to the community. But again, it’s really important that the community help us as well by saving triple zero for emergencies.
“While we will always have as many crews on the road as we can, every call that isn’t an emergency puts even further strain on them to reach those who need us the most.”
Hospitals were warned of a potential increase in demand for their services when the Health Department escalated its caution level across the public system on Monday.
Responding to higher COVID-19 case numbers, the department advised more telehealth consultations, stricter PPE and shorter hospital stays might be required across the state as a result.
A spokesperson said the health system was well prepared and equipped to handle the increase in COVID-19 cases combined with winter colds and cases of flu.
“We will continue to monitor the situation as it progresses,” the spokesperson said.
Ambulance Victoria encouraged those who didn’t need emergency transport to consider visiting the GP or a priority primary care centre, or travel to the emergency department by their own means if they were well enough. Victorians can also get support from their pharmacist or the Nurse-on-Call hotline.
A code red – where non-emergency ambulances begin responding to cases and patients are rapidly offloaded at hospitals – has not occurred in Victoria since 2022.
More than one in three of the 20,000 influenza cases reported across Australia in 2024 have been in a child under 15 years. Childhood flu rates are up 20 per cent on 2023.
Dr Anthea Rhodes, a paediatrician at the Royal Children’s Hospital, said it was concerning that flu vaccination rates among children were so low at the start of Melbourne’s winter.
Less than one in seven children aged under 15 have been vaccinated against this year’s flu strain, according to the hospital’s national child health poll.
Paediatrician Anthea Rhodes, director of the Royal Children’s Hospital national child health poll.Credit: Joe Armao
“The flu is the leading cause of vaccine-preventable hospitalisation for children aged under five and can cause serious illness and even death,” said Rhodes, director of the child health poll.
“The flu is seasonal with infections peaking between June and September, which means the good news is it’s not too late to vaccinate.”
- with Alex Crowe
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