Ambulance Victoria (AV) has broken demand records once again, clocking in the its busiest quarter ever, according to the Victorian Agency for Health Information’s (VAHI) latest health and ambulance performance data.
Commenting on the data, Minister for Health, Mary-Anne Thomas said this past quarter was the third consecutive quarter to break AV demand records.
“[AV’s] Code 1 case call-outs rose from the previous quarter to 97,928 – an increase of five per cent from the same period last year,” Ms Thomas said.
“Sixty-four per cent of Code 1 cases were responded to within 15 minutes,” she said.
“The latest release of quarterly performance data confirms Victoria’s health system is under unprecedented pressure – like every health system across the country – from a busy flu season and the continued pressure from the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Ms Thomas said the demand was reflected in the latest data, with hospital emergency department presentations pushed up to 486,701 – an increase of 5.1 per cent from the previous quarter.
She said Victoria’s elective surgery waiting list had stabilised since the previous quarter and was now sitting at 87,275.
“Importantly, the number of patients who received their surgery in this quarter was 41,468, which is an increase of 48 per cent compared to the previous quarter,” the Minister said.
“We’re in the midst of a record-breaking period of demand on our health system, but this latest data shows that we are weathering the storm and building a system that will be stronger than ever moving forward,” she said.
“All our healthcare workers are doing an incredible job under challenging circumstances.”
VAHI’s latest quarterly health and performance data can be viewed online at this PS News link.
