At St Vincent's Hospital in Melbourne, emergency department staff treat a steady stream of patients in crisis: a man with psychosis who attacked a stranger, a young man suffering metabolic acidosis after taking ice and GHB, and an elderly woman with heart failure. The scene, reported by The Age's Melissa Cunningham, illustrates the relentless pressure on Victoria's emergency departments.
Data shows the scale of the problem. Between January and October this year, St Vincent's ED treated 43,171 patients, an increase of more than 1,400 compared to the same period in 2024. Statewide, more than half of patients wait over four hours for treatment, and between April and June this year, nearly 3,800 people spent longer than 24 hours in emergency departments.
Director of emergency services at St Vincent's, Dr Jonty Karro, says the growing number of older patients with multiple chronic conditions is a key driver. Some arrive with injuries akin to being in a high-speed car crash following falls, he says. But Karro argues the bottleneck is not just at the front door but in discharging patients: 'You can't get people out of the hospital until they have somewhere to go.' He points to delays in accessing residential aged care and NDIS support.
Mark Putland, Victorian branch chair of the Australasian College of Emergency Medicine, warns the system is at a tipping point and that unless urgent action is taken now, the worst is yet to come.
The Victorian Ambulance Union's acting secretary, Olga Bartasek, says paramedics face 10 to 15 ambulances ramped outside hospitals, with waits of two to eight hours to offload patients.
AMA Victoria president Simon Judkins says a record number of patients are being treated in corridors due to lack of beds, and healthcare workers are arriving for night shifts with 60 patients already in waiting rooms. 'Politicians need to start being honest about the state of the healthcare system,' he says.
On Sunday, the state government will announce a $1.5 billion plan to cut emergency department wait times by up to 20 percent. The plan, if the government is re-elected, would expand 12 hospital EDs by 25 percent, including Melbourne's Alfred Hospital, hire 750 nurses and 1,500 health workers in total, and deliver 250 more beds over four years.
But some experts argue the reforms do not address underlying issues. St Vincent's and Austin hospitals have already introduced dedicated geriatrician teams to safely divert older patients to alternative care, but broader problems remain.
The article also notes that in September, it was revealed that 20 new emergency beds at the Royal Children's Hospital would remain empty after a multimillion-dollar redevelopment due to staffing shortages. The government later committed $66 million to staff those beds, weeks before the November election.