Victoria suspends elective surgeries

MedTech News: Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has announced a pause to all Category 3 elective surgery in metropolitan Melbourne and a reduction to elective surgery lists across public and private hospitals.

There will be no changes to elective surgery in regional Victoria, but regional cases will continue to be monitored to ensure those hospitals have the resources and capacity they need to manage any increase in presentations.

Wherever possible, surgeries that have already been booked will proceed – but for the time being, only new Category 1 and the most urgent Category 2 surgeries will be booked. IVF treatments such as egg retrievals will be able to continue given the time critical nature of these procedures and minimal impact on hospital capacity.

Massive efforts across the health system mean more than 1,200 spaces for ICU and critical care beds have been created or upgraded so they are suitable for coronavirus patients. This includes almost 800 ICU beds that are ready to go, with hundreds more ready to be rapidly scaled up as needed.

Should the demand for ICU beds increase, plans are in place to convert a thousand more critical care spaces to treat coronavirus cases within our hospitals. This includes upgrading operating theatres, recovery and other ward areas, emergency department spaces, and if really required, more beds can be opened in modular facilities.

VIC Minister for Health, Jenny Mikakos, said “We’re continuing to see high case numbers – particularly in our vulnerable elderly residents – and we need to ensure we have the beds and staff available if we need to transfer them out of aged care settings.”

VIC Premier Daniel Andrews said “These private facilities are not run by the Victorian Government but that doesn’t matter – these people are all Victorians and we will do everything we can to take care of them.”

“The Commonwealth has asked for our help and that’s exactly what they’ll get – we will send in our public health teams, our nurses and other support staff to make sure residents are safe.”