Victoria, Australia, is scrambling to meet the growing demand for medical services as the CCP virus outbreak spreads, suspending non-urgent surgery.
Health Minister Martin Foley confirmed that public hospitals from October 14th will only perform Category 1 surgery (must be treated within 30 days) or 2A surgery (90 days).
“Other categories of clinical care will be rescheduled on a case-by-case basis, depending on the particular situation at a particular location,” Foley told reporters on October 12.
“As the number of cases of COVID increased, we foresaw a shift in capacity from the state sector to the private sector, with the aim of gradually turning off the non-urgent element of care,” he said. I added.
“Unfortunately, this is a necessary step to take into account the increase in demand … and further changes cannot be ruled out.”
So far, 675 patients with COVID-19 have been hospitalized, 144 in the intensive care unit and 100 on the ventilator. Last year, health officials suspended non-urgent surgery to deal with the outbreak of infection.
The Victoria State Government will also inject $ 255 million into the creation of hospital surge support allowances for healthcare professionals treating COVID-positive patients. That’s $ 60 per shift starting next week.
“We know that the next few months of Victoria’s opening will be incredibly difficult and difficult for all healthcare professionals,” Foley said.
An additional $ 2.5 million will be spent hiring up to 1,000 healthcare workers from abroad, 60% of whom will return to Australia to help ease pressure on the healthcare system.
Nurses, doctors, midwives, and related healthcare professionals will arrive from November to March 2022.
In Victoria, the daily COVID-19 infection rate is the highest ever.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and exacerbated long-term health problems in various Australian states.
Ambulance surges (waiting for patients to be able to transport them outside the hospital) are becoming an increasingly important issue, especially in states with low COVID-19 cases.
“The surge in ambulances is what the public sees and hears through news reports,” said Malcolm Boyle, academic lead in emergency medical education at Griffith University and director of the emergency medical program.
“Like many aspects of health care, COVID has highlighted and exacerbated existing problems and pressures,” he writes. conversation October 11th.
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