Victorian hospitals are facing record pressure, yet median emergency department wait times have held steady at 15 minutes, seven minutes faster than before the pandemic.
More than 513,000 people presented to emergency departments between October and December, the highest quarterly figure recorded. Ambulance services also experienced sustained demand, responding to more than 100,000 Code One cases during the same period.
Despite this workload, paramedics spent less time waiting at hospitals and more time attending emergencies. Nearly three quarters of patients transported by ambulance were transferred within 40 minutes, the strongest quarterly result in five years.
The Allan Labor Government attributes the performance to continued investment in frontline services, including the Standards for Safe and Timely Ambulance and Emergency Care. The standards aim to support healthcare workers while reducing delays for patients seeking urgent treatment.
Planned surgery data also showed improvement. More than 53,000 procedures were completed in the quarter, with 87 per cent delivered within clinically recommended timeframes, the best quarterly outcome in four years. The government said category one patients continue to be treated within 30 days, while median wait times for category two procedures fell by three days and category three by eight days compared with the same period last year.
Alternative care pathways are also playing a growing role. The Victorian Virtual Emergency Department managed nearly 80,000 calls over the quarter, a 32 per cent increase on the previous year. Urgent Care Clinics have now supported more than one million visits, redirecting less serious cases away from hospital emergency departments.
A Virtual Hospital pilot led by the Royal Melbourne Hospital and Austin Health is providing specialist hospital care to patients in their homes, offering another option for those who do not require admission.
Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas said the figures showed the system was responding under pressure.
“More Victorians are receiving care than ever before, and even with this demand, care is being delivered faster.”
She added that staff were central to the results.
“This world-class care wouldn’t be possible without our dedicated nurses, doctors, ambos and health workforce.”
The latest quarterly figures present a picture of a health system managing record demand while maintaining faster treatment times than before the pandemic, even as pressures across emergency and ambulance services remain high.
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