Despite improvements since last quarter, Victoria’s healthcare system is still missing targets

Two-thirds of Victorian hospitals failed to treat enough patients in time. See your local emergency department’s wait times here.

More than 60 per cent of emergency department patients’ at Victoria’s worst-scoring hospital were not treated in time last quarter, with more than two-thirds of all hospitals falling below target.

Public emergency departments are supposed to treat 80 per cent of patients within the clinically recommended time for their condition.

But the latest Victorian Agency for Health Information data shows — despite improvements since last quarter — the healthcare system is still missing targets.

Between July and September this year only 69.76 per cent of emergency patients were treated in time, with just 12 of 42 Emergency Departments reaching the 80 per cent mark.

More than half of patients at the three worst-scoring hospitals — Werribee Mercy, Ballarat Base and Footscray — did not receive treatment within the clinically recommended time.

Werribee Mercy was one of the worst-scoring hospitals.

These three hospitals also had the longest median wait time, with one in two patients waiting 35 minutes or longer.

The Victorian Heart, Royal Victorian Eye and Ear and Dandenong Hospitals had the highest percentage of patients treated within the clinically recommended time, with all three sitting above 90 per cent.

At University Hospital Geelong, one in ten patients had to wait more than two hours and 55 minutes to be seen — the highest 90th percentile waiting time in the state.

This was followed by Footscray Hospital and Mildura Base Public Hospital, where one in ten patients had to wait at least 2 hours and 36 minutes for help.

At the other end of the spectrum was the Victorian Heart Hospital, where 90 per cent of patients were seen within 12 minutes.

This was both the lowest wait time in the state and a reflection of their higher-acuity patients, who are more likely to have life-threatening conditions that need immediate treatment compared to other hospitals.

One in ten patients at University Hospital Geelong waited more than two hours and 55 minutes to be seen. Picture: Alan Barber

Dandenong Hospital treated 90 per cent of their patients within 23 minutes — the second shortest wait time — followed by Casey Hospital, at 34 minutes.

The lowest median wait times — which measure the time in which half of ED patients were treated in — were the Victorian Heart, Angliss, Maroondah and Box Hill hospitals with six minutes or less.

Speaking on Wednesday when the data was released, Victorian Health Minister Mary Anne-Thomas acknowledged there was a way to go.

“We will continue to keep our foot on the pedal when it comes to delivering improvements in our healthcare system,” she told the press conference.

She criticised the former Federal Government for drops in GP bulk-billing rates — which she said was placing pressure on the state’s healthcare system.