Doctors warn Victorians on overloaded emergency departments

Covid is now so widespread in Victoria, doctors are finding the virus in patients who arrive at hospital for unrelated ailments such as cuts and burns.

Associate Nurse Manager Michelle Caulfield in the Alfred Hospital Emergency Department. Picture: David Caird

The head of emergency at The Alfred says Covid is now so widespread across the health system that they are finding the virus in people who present for burns, cuts and other maladies.

Doctors are urging Victorians to be careful when presenting to overloaded emergency departments, as many people with Covid are turning up when they could have been treated at home or by their local GP.

Alfred Health director of emergency Dr Carl Luckhoff said services were being pushed and finding it hard to deliver the level of care expected in Australia.

He urged Victorians to consider what support was available to take unnecessary strain off hospital wards.

“People that we would usually just keep in hospital to make sure they’re safe, we’re having to ask ourselves whether we can do that,” Dr Luckhoff said.

Omicron made up at least 70 per cent of all new Covid cases by the end of December. Picture: David Crosling

“If I could give a message, it is that people should inevitably be patient.

“They should ask if they have an emergency that requires attention now, and when they do present, please be aware that hospitals are under immense pressure and will continue to be.

“There are people who do come in and who end up going home, not every patient I see necessarily needs to be in the emergency department but we will always do what we can to care for you.”

Dr Luckhoff said Covid presentations had surged not long after Christmas.

“We were seeing people with just Covid coming in, now a mix of everything else,” he said.

“People with minor burns are turning up and they also happen to have the virus.

“There is no doubt the staffing issues are tremendous.”

Omicron is now the dominant strain in Victoria and by the end of December made up at least 70 per cent of all new cases.

Victoria is now recording tens of thousands of cases every day, with hospitalisations also increasing but at a slower place.

Dr Luckhoff said hospitals had been preparing for surging case numbers over the past two years, but challenges remained in providing enough workers for the system.

“On an individual level as doctors and nurses it doesn't sit well with you,” he said.

“We don’t have the staff and services that we’re used to and, to some degree, we’re now acting on plans we’ve been making since the pandemic started.”

“We will keep finding ways to look after people in that space.

“To help out, please follow the health directives … You never know when someone has Covid.”