Coronavirus Victoria: Elective surgery suspended other than most urgent

Premier Daniel Andrews has announced an immediate change in the state’s hospitals to free up beds after recording 384 new COVID-19 cases.

Elective surgery other than the “most urgent” has been suspended in Victoria as the state recorded 384 new cases of COVID-19, following yesterday’s record of 532 new infections.

Premier Daniel Andrews today also confirmed six new deaths, bringing the state’s toll to 83.

“There are 260 Victorians in hospital, 45 of those are receiving intensive care,” he said.

The previous highest daily coronavirus case total was 484 last Wednesday.

Mr Andrews announced “with some regret, but a sense of absolutely agency” the suspension of elective surgery other than for Category 1 and “the most urgent Category 2 patients”.

“We will do our level best to honour those booked surgeries, so scheduled surgeries, but that will not run for very long,” he said.

“If you’re outside the most urgent of Category 2 or in Category 3 – although very little Category 3 surgery is being undertaken at the moment – then we will attempt to have your surgery done, but very soon, all of that surgery will stop.

“So only the most urgent patients will be treated.”

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Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said elective surgery has been suspended forthwith for anyone other than Category 1 patients or the most urgent Category 2 patients. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Wayne Taylor

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He said it was appropriate to free up beds and staff.

“Staff is the biggest issue. It’s not so much about equipment. It’s no so much about capacity in a physical sense. It’s about having staff who are able to provide care and support to the most vulnerable residents in and coming out of private sector aged care,” Mr Andrews said.

He said the changes would be occurring in “many different settings” with Eastern Health and the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital “closing beds currently”.

Mr Andrews said they would be moving staff, principally Victorian Government-employed registered nurses, to aged care settings to provide care and support where there are outbreaks.

“Some of the stories we’ve heard, some of what’s gone on in some of these settings is simply not acceptable and it’s not about blame, it’s not about demarcations and having disputes about who is in charge of what. It’s just about getting on and getting this done,” he said.

Health Minister Jenny Mikakos said the “pause” on less serious Category 2 surgery from Tuesday will free up hundreds of beds in the hospital system at this “difficult time”, including both public and private hospitals in locked down metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire.

“I want to reassure Victorians that they will still be able to continue to access the most urgent surgery that they need, whether that is as a result of cardiac matters or trauma matters (considered) Category 1 surgery as well as the most urgent Category 2 surgery,” she said.

“They will continue to access that surgery as required and we will only be putting these measures in place for as long as it is absolutely necessary and we apologise to all Victorians who may have had their surgery impacted in this way, for the inconvenience of that.

“We acknowledge it is inconvenient and we are looking to resume a significant elective surgery bid as soon as it is safe to do so.”

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Victoria's chief health officer Professor Brett Sutton said modelling suggested Monday should be the peak of coronavirus cases but made no promises. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

DAILY TOTAL FALLS BUT OUTBREAKS GROW

Victoria’s chief health officer Professor Brett Sutton on Monday, when six other deaths were recorded, said modelling suggested it “should be the peak” of daily coronavirus case numbers.

“Modelling with our effective reproductive number that I have seen most recently suggests that today should be the peak,” Dr Sutton told reporters.

“Now I’m not going to sit back and say today is the peak. We have to see what happens in coming days. But driving that effective reproduction number down below one is the thing that will start to see numbers drop. And as numbers drop, outbreaks drop.”

In the past week, the daily case total only dropped below 400 on Friday (300) and Saturday (357).

There are currently 4775 active cases in Victoria and 18,521 tests were carried out yesterday.

Prof Sutton on Tuesday said the “significant outbreaks” in private aged care had grown including 88 cases linked to Estia Aged Care in Ardeer and 86 cases are linked to St Basil’s Homes for the Aged in Fawkner, which has been put on notice by the aged care watchdog.

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A number of people have died who were residents of St Basil's in Fawkner. Picture: Sarah Matray

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Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Tuesday described the situation in Victorian aged care as “very complex”.

“You have a combination of the community transmission, which is widespread in Melbourne, finding its way into many facilities, and in particular it has found its way into the aged care workforce,” he said at a press conference on the Sunshine Coast.

“Now, the standing down, necessarily, of many in that workforce has had a very significant disruption to the provision of care in those facilities. The Commonwealth has been working, including with other states, to ensure that we can plug those gaps wherever we possibly can.

“But I want to be upfront with you – it’s very difficult and it’s very hard to get people into those positions, particularly given the complexity and difficulty of the situations they’re facing.”

He said Australian Defence Force personnel and nurses were put on a night shift in a Melbourne facility at about 11pm on Monday.

“So there is no effort being spared to ensure that we can get the people to the places they need to be,” Mr Morrison said.