Questions without notice and ministers statements
Health system
Mr GUY (Bulleen—Leader of the Opposition) (14:02): My question is to the Minister for Health. When will all sick or injured Victorians presenting at hospital emergency departments be able to wait to be seen inside the hospital and not outside in tents?
Ms THOMAS (Macedon—Minister for Health, Minister for Ambulance Services) (14:02): I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question. The COVID pandemic has resulted in unprecedented pressure on our healthcare system. What we have done throughout the pandemic is to work with our healthcare workers to look at ways in which we can manage the pressure that they are experiencing. Unprecedented times call for innovation and some changes to the way in which we are managing and supporting patients. I want to firstly acknowledge the discomfort that this has undoubtedly caused—absolutely, I understand that. But I want all Victorians to understand that every decision made in our healthcare service is based on the acuity of the person and the condition they present with.
Our ambulance off-load teams are an initiative driven by Ambulance Victoria in consultation with our healthcare services. It is about ensuring that we can off-load patients from ambulances and keep them in the care of paramedics and nurses so that those ambulances can get back on the road responding to those 000 category 1 life-saving emergencies. This model of care, the ambulance off-load, is only applied to category 3, 4 and 5 patients. Those that present at our emergency departments—the sickest people—are treated; category 1 patients that present at ED, 100 per cent of the time. I have talked about this before, but it looks like I will continue to talk about it. This COVID pandemic has caused significant pressure, and indeed it has been this winter where we have seen significant illness—
Mr Guy: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, I actually asked the minister for a date as to when Victorians will cease having to present at an emergency department by waiting in a tent. I asked the minister for a date.
The SPEAKER: The minister is being relevant to the question.
Ms THOMAS: Thank you, Speaker. The point is that the ambulance off-load teams have been put in place in order to get our ambulances back on the road delivering their life-saving emergency care to category 1 patients.
Mr GUY (Bulleen—Leader of the Opposition) (14:05): How many Victorian hospitals have tents established to manage patient overflow because underfunded emergency departments are full?
Ms THOMAS (Macedon—Minister for Health, Minister for Ambulance Services) (14:06): The premise of the question is completely wrong. Our government has invested more, and we continue to invest in expanding ED capacity right across the state. There are a range of reasons why we have put in place some innovative solutions at the moment, but I want to make this point: every patient that arrives at our hospital is under the care of a highly qualified paramedic or nurse or other clinician. I make this point: unlike those on the other side, we will never attack our healthcare workers. We will back them in every step of the way.