Ambulance transfer delays at Victorian hospitals spark health system fears

Other regional hospitals did not fare much better, with 54 per cent of ambulance arrivals at Albury hospital transferred into emergency department care within the 40-minute benchmark, while at Bendigo hospital this number was 59 per cent, and Northeast Health at Wangaratta was 67 per cent.

Victorian Shadow Assistant Health Minister and state Member for Euroa Annabelle Cleeland, has raised concerns about the times and the number of ‘Code Orange’ alerts in 12 months, describing Victoria’s emergency health system as “broken”.

New data — disclosed through a Freedom of Information request initiated by the Liberals and Nationals — revealed Ambulance Victoria issued more than 200 Code Orange alerts statewide in just 18 months.

A Code Orange is triggered when ambulance demand overwhelms the system, forcing paramedics and hospitals to juggle limited resources and delay critical care for patients.

When asked questions about the wait times for patients being transferred from ambulances into GV Health, chief operating officer Donna Sherringham said the numbers had improved in the April to June quarter, with 59.71 per cent transferred within the 40-minute benchmark time.

She put this down to new measures being implemented at the hospital.

Ms Sherringham said GV Health was “actively implementing a range of initiatives” aimed at improving the experience and outcomes for patients arriving via ambulance at Shepparton hospital.

“Recently, we’ve expanded our transit lounge to support timely discharge and patient flow, and enhanced visibility of key metrics for emergency department staff to support real-time decision-making,” she said.

“We also continue to be active participants in the Timely Emergency Care Collaborative, alongside the Department of Health and several peer hospitals.

“This collaboration supports us in designing, testing and implementing innovative solutions to address barriers to patient flow.”