Victoria’s public hospitals have demonstrated resilience to system pressures with faster ambulance response times, increases in planned surgery and reductions in emergency care – demonstrating that recent initiatives and investments are supporting positive outcomes for Victorians.
Key points
There are promising signs that pressures across the health system are easing, demonstrating the resilience of the health sector and the impact of initiatives to reduce demand for acute care.
Health services continue to deliver performance improvements amid ongoing pressures, with faster ambulance response times, increases in the number of planned surgery patients treated, reductions in the median time to treatment for emergency care to record lows and a decrease in the number of emergency care patients staying longer than 24 hours.
This year’s State Budget is a prime opportunity for the Victorian Government to build on initiatives that keep people out of hospital, building upon existing state policies and commitments from the recently elected Federal Government.
Data from the Victorian Agency for Health Information (VAHI) shows improvements across the public healthcare system, particularly across emergency care and planned surgery. The median time to treatment in emergency departments was 14 minutes, down 1 minute from last quarter and 6 minutes below pre-pandemic levels. Hospitals are continuing to drive down planned surgery waitlists and treat more patients, with a 2.7% reduction in the number of people on the planned surgery waitlist and 51,644 patients treated – up 3% on the last quarter. Further, there are fewer ambulance arrivals, emergency presentations and reductions in the length of stay longer than 24 hours.
Despite this, there is room for improvement in some areas, that likely require additional support. The number of presentations to emergency departments is down after a record high last quarter, though it is still 1.4% higher compared to this time last year, with 493,304 presentations in Q3 2023-24. The number of patients with a length of stay longer than 24 hours is down 16% from the last quarter (2,312), but still up around 54% from Q3 2023-24.
VHA CEO Leigh Clarke said that there are promising signs that pressures across the health system are easing, demonstrating the impact of initiatives that keep people out of hospital. She added that this shows how important it is for the Victorian State Budget to build upon this with more investment in non-urgent care.
‘It is great to see Victoria’s public hospitals delivering performance improvements amid increasing demand for care and services, showing the resilience of the health sector. The median time to treatment for emergency is below pre-pandemic levels and ambulance response times are improving,’ Ms Clarke said.
‘These improvements are being led by services and show that policy initiatives across non-urgent care are working, including Urgent Care Clinics funded by the Federal Government and delivered in partnership with states and territories, and the Victorian Government’s innovative Victorian Virtual Emergency Department (VVED),’ Ms Clarke said.
Ms Clarke noted that all levels of government are introducing policies to support performance improvements across hospital and health services. The recently elected Federal Government has committed to supporting the state with non-urgent care through $8.5 billion in funding to strengthen Medicare, as well as the establishment of 50 new Urgent Care Services across the country by the middle of 2026.
‘The VHA welcomes measures introduced by both the Victorian and Federal Government which take pressure off the acute parts of our health system. We have a reliable system of primary care, non-urgent mental health and aged care which needs sustained investment and attention’, Ms Clarke said.
Ms Clarke recognised that the Victorian Government has taken steps to improve emergency care and tackle challenges in ambulance response times, particularly through the new Standards for Safe and Timely Ambulance and Emergency Care for Victorians (Standards) introduced earlier this year. The VHA supports continued monitoring of outcomes and any potential sector impacts as the Standards continue to be implemented across in-scope health services.
She said that it is essential that this year’s Victorian State Budget 2025-26 continue to build on the progress noted in today’s data with funding of initiatives that keep people well and out of hospital. Sustained investment in primary care, mental health and aged care in the State Budget remains essential to keep non-urgent care in the community and prevent avoidable and potentially unnecessary hospital presentations.
‘Victoria’s Community Health Services are at the forefront of early intervention, health prevention and promotion, including the provision of mental health services. It is essential that all Victorians can access non-urgent mental health supports and we would like to see this Budget prioritise a timely roll-out of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Locals. This was delayed last year due to workforce shortages, and we note this remains a priority of the Victorian Government.’
She said that digital health is a driver of innovation and is eliminating barriers to care delivery through more efficient and effective processes. Further investment and planning in digitisation will ease pressure on both emergency and planned care, including through a refresh of the Digital Health Roadmap which is due to expire at the end of 2025.
Ms Clarke said that the VVED is a prime example of innovation that keeps care in the community and supports other parts of the health system. This helps with overall system performance, such as reduced emergency presentations through timely non-urgent care, particularly in rural areas where issues of equity are more pronounced.
‘Firstly, there is an opportunity to improve digital connectivity in regional and rural areas by investing in Bush Nursing Centres – often our first responders in remote Victoria.
‘Secondly, the establishment of a pathway for health services to connect directly into the VVED will improve coordination and the capability of rural services to manage lower acuity cases, addressing unnecessary ED presentations, demand for ambulance services and freeing up larger hospitals to treat more complex cases.’
She said the stand-up of Local Health Service Networks on 1 July presents a major opportunity to improve sector collaboration and information sharing. This includes through a statewide roll-out of Electronic Medical Records (EMR) which will streamline referral pathways for areas such as planned surgery and enable more effective management of clinical risks.
‘With the Victorian State Budget to be handed down on Tuesday 20 May, we hope to see a Budget which prioritises healthcare. This is vital to ensuring our health services can meet their communities increasing demand for care and services, while driving sector innovation and continuous improvement, Ms Clarke said.
Read more about the VHA’s priorities to future-proof our health system in our State Budget submission.
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For further information contact
Toli Papadopoulos, Public Affairs Advisor
0408 851 302
Visit our website: www.vha.org.au