Premier Daniel Andrews announces a virtual program running at Victoria's busiest ED will be doubled to treat at least 600 patients a day in response to the challenging flu season and the Omicron BA.5 variant.
before giving up on seeing a doctor.
"When a patient comes through, they'll get triaged by the triage nurse and then directed through to a 'medical waiting room' if appropriate where they can have a video consultation with one of the doctors in the service," Dr Sher said. Dr Sher said the virtual ED was not for life-threatening emergencies but triage staff would call an ambulance if they thought the patient needed immediate treatment.
She said the Northern Hospital was looking to involve GP clinics to give patients early access to anti-viral treatments, which she hoped would also drive down hospital admissions.Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas said 65 per cent of aged care residents using the service had avoided being transported to hospital.
Ambulance Victoria's Care Pathway Improvement lead, Amanda Thornton, has been working on the program since its inception."When we transport to hospital, we can see that extend up to eight or nine hours," she said. The health minister said the new rostering pattern for advanced life support paramedic crews would see more paramedics available at peak times.