Geelong hospital experiencing staff shortages, up to five-hour wait times after Covid spike
The Geelong hospital is feeling the strain under the weight of increased Covid infections, as wait times and the number of people hospitalised with the virus is revealed.
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Geelong hospital is feeling the strain under the weight of increased Covid infections, with staff shortages adding to lengthy delays for patients.
Barwon Health confirmed, as of Tuesday, 19 patients were admitted with Covid-19 infections.
Spokeswoman Kate Bibby said the hospital was experiencing “significant workforce shortages” due to the Covid spike and ongoing vacancies.
“The impact of these shortages is felt across the organisation and our staff are working hard to backfill as many of these absences as possible through extra shifts and overtime,” Ms Bibby said.
Ms Bibby said the hospital was working closely with private facilities across the region to help manage demand.
“We have some flexibility to support workforce availability by implementing extended team-based models, which utilises more support staff,” she said.
Barwon Health’s emergency department had also seen an increase in presentations, with wait times significantly increasing.
At 2pm on Tuesday, the hospital’s live tracker rated the emergency department as “extremely busy”, with a typical wait time to see a doctor between 90 minutes and four-and-a-half hours.
It comes as wait times at the Royal Children’s Hospital began to ease on Monday, despite some parents still experiencing five hour delays.
“Emergency department staff will always prioritise caring for the most unwell and injured patients first, which may result in delays being experienced during peak times,” Ms Bibby said.
Australian Medical Association Victoria president, Roderick McRae, expected more health facilities to struggle with demand during the peak of the latest Covid wave.
“This is going to continue,” he said.
“It’s not terribly different from almost 12 months ago when the Omicron variant smashed us.”
Originally published as Geelong hospital experiencing staff shortages, up to five-hour wait times after Covid spike
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