Funding cut to programs designed to reduce strain on ambulance crews and emergency departments

Victoria’s stressed health system will be placed deeper in crisis after funding was cut to programs aimed at reducing strain on ambulance crews and hospitals.

Funding has been axed for both Ambulance Patient Offload Teams and Hospital Ambulance Liaison Officers. Picture: Getty

Victoria’s embattled health system will be put under further strain after the Andrews government cut crucial funding to two programs designed to reduce strain on ambulance crews and emergency departments.

Health insiders have warned ambulance response times will blowout and waits at emergency departments will increase to record levels following the controversial move.

“As a result of this change, Victorians will suffer,” one paramedic, who is not authorised to speak publicly, said.

“The current healthcare crisis is at breaking point and cannot cope.

“There will be an overwhelming increase in demand for healthcare services, hospitals will be bed-blocked, time-critical and lifesaving treatment will be delayed, and the community will pay the price.”

Health insiders have warned ambulance response times will get worse. Picture: David Crosling

Sources said funding constraints had led to the decision to scrap critical care offload models implemented to increase the availability of emergency resources during the pandemic.

The Sunday Herald Sun has confirmed funding has been axed for both Ambulance Patient Offload Teams (APOT) and Hospital Ambulance Liaison Officers (HALO).

The programs employed additional healthcare workers under surge arrangements allowing ambulance crews to offload patients faster.

The APOT program was introduced in 2021 to improve transfer times and ambulance availability.

Hospital Ambulance Liaison Officers were deployed to emergency departments to support paramedics in managing patient transfer delays.

Funding has also been scrapped for dozens of non-emergency patient transport resources sources say will see up to 140 cases a day revert back to Ambulance Victoria, creating further strain on an already overwhelmed system.

It comes just weeks after Daniel Andrews warned Covid would continue to place the state’s hospitals under increasing pressure.

“Heading into winter, we know that there are more Covid cases out there,” he said.

“It will be a challenging winter. There’s never been an easy winter in any hospital system anywhere in the world.

And Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas said: “While we are seeing improvements across the board – we know there’s more to be done.”

“So we will continue to deliver the staff, services and infrastructure Victorians need to get the care they deserve,” she said.

Shadow health Minister, Georgie Crozier, said it made no sense for the government to be cutting resources “where they are needed the most.”

“These cuts are as a direct result of the woeful management of Victoria’s budget, and will only put more pressure on a health system that remains in crisis putting the lives of Victorians at risk,” she said.

The current healthcare crisis is at breaking point and cannot cope, claim insiders. Picture: Getty Images

The latest quarterly health performance data showed just 62.5 per cent of critical ambulance call outs were being attended with the 15 minute target.

Median emergency department wait times dropped to 18 minutes but just 67.9 per cent of patients were treated in time, the highest result in more than a year.

However the amount of patients staying in the emergency department longer than 24 hours spiked to 2,497 compared to 2,304 last quarter and 492 in the same time period last year.

Earlier this month a patient was forced to wait about 14 hours on an ambulance stretcher at Maroondah Hospital’s emergency department.

The hardest hit Victorians are waiting more than four years for elective surgery, well short of the expected 365 day time frame.

A government spokesperson said surge offloading initiatives were no longer needed post pandemic.

“As we move on from the challenges of the pandemic and demand stabilises, AV will be returning offload staff to normal operations,” he said.

“This has been made possible by the recruitment of more than 5,400 healthcare workers since we launched our $12 billion Pandemic Repair Plan last year.

“In addition, with more than 1,300 paramedics recruited in the past two years, the COVID-specific surge shifts will also be ending.”