Quarterly health report reveals COVID pandemic's hit on Ballarat Hospital times

The Victorian Health Services Performance Report for the 2020/21 April-June quarter shows the effects of COVID-19 are still being felt across emergency departments and ambulance services across Victoria.

Ambulance Victoria and hospital emergency departments across the state experienced their busiest April-June quarter on record. It was the second busiest quarter ever for ambulances and third busiest for emergency departments.

The BHS emergency department treated 13,948 patients from April to June in 2021, an average of 153 patients a day, compared to 12,257 for the same quarter last year.

According to the report, 90 per cent of patients presenting to Ballarat's ED were seen within 164 minutes, well above the state average of 122 minutes and almost 75 per cent longer than the same time last year. The state average almost doubled over the same period.

Half of patients were seen within 38 minutes of arriving at the ED during the April quarter this year.

Throughout the COVID pandemic the BHS ED, and most emergency departments across the state, has been split in half for respiratory and non-respiratory patients to prevent any potential spread of COVID-19 which has added to delays and treatment times.

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According to the Victorian Health Services Performance Report, 45.4 per cent of patients were treated within the recommended time for their category of injury/illness during the April quarter this year, well below the state average of 63.58 per cent and much lower than the 65.93 per cent recorded during the same period last year in the early stages of the pandemic.

Forty five per cent of category two patients were treated within the recommended 10 minutes of arrival, 37 per cent of category three patients were treated within 30 minutes, and 51.75 of category four patients were seen within the recommended 60 minutes of arriving.

Local ambulance crews were also stretched during April, May and June with a 24 per cent increase in patients delivered to the ED compared to the same three months of 2020.

Ambulance Victoria crews bought 4177 people to BHS, with two thirds transferred to emergency department care within 40 minutes of arrival.

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