Geelong hospital ED presentations surge

New figures have revealed that emergency department presentations surged at Geelong hospital. Here’s why.

Geelong paramedics are under intense pressure. Picture: Alan Barber

Ambos are under intense pressure amid soaring emergency department presentations at Geelong hospital, new figures show.

Paramedics attended to 68.7 per cent of code one patients in Greater Geelong within 15 minutes in the December quarter – down from 74.8 per cent a year prior.

The average response time to code one patients was 14 minutes and 48 seconds in the municipality.

Code one incidents require urgent paramedic and hospital care, based on information available at time of call, according to Ambulance Victoria.

In Greater Geelong, there was a 19.3 per cent increase in code one caseload from the same time in 2021.

Ambulance Victoria Barwon South West regional director Terry Marshall said ambulance responses for the second quarter of 2022/23 were impacted by soaring demand, sicker patients, and staff furloughing due to Covid.

“Across the state, October to December was the busiest quarter in Ambulance Victoria’s history with paramedics called to a record 100,234 code one cases,” Mr Marshall said.

“I encourage all Victorians to take care of themselves and keep regular check-ups with your GP or specialist before your condition worsens and you need to call for our lifesaving care.”

From October to December across Victoria, paramedics responded to 60.2 per cent of code one cases within the statewide average target of 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, new Victorian Agency for Health Information (VAHI) data shows presentations to Geelong hospital’s emergency department surged in the December quarter.

There were 19,426 presentations,up from 18,626 the quarter prior.

The 90th percentile wait time – the amount of time in which 90 per cent of all patients presenting to the emergency department were seen by a nurse or doctor – was 199 minutes in the December quarter.

This was a slight improvement from 201 minutes in the September quarter.

Barwon Health spokeswoman Kate Bibby said numerous factors caused an increase in presentations, including the most recent Covid wave, population growth during the holiday period and challenges in accessing primary care.

“We are constantly monitoring our waiting times for treatment, staffing levels and access to services to ensure the sickest patients and those with the highest needs are treated promptly,” she said.

She said there were a range of initiatives in place to support better access and additional resources were being deployed to improve patient flow.

Geelong hospital’s elective surgery wait list decreased from 2456 patients at September 30 to 2370 on December 31, the VAHI data showed.

“This improvement is due to new initiatives such as the opening of the Youang Surgery Centre that has four new theatres and a surgical ward,” Ms Bibby said.

“Barwon Health is committed to continuing this trend, as reducing the waiting times for planned surgery is a high priority.”

Originally published as Geelong hospital ED presentations surge