The health of Wyndham’s residents is in good hands, with the latest hospital and ambulance data showing several improvements in key areas.
Wyndham’s median ambulance response time for code one emergencies was 11.22 minutes between April and June, down from 13.15 minutes for the same quarter last year, according to figures released last week by Minister for Health and Ambulance Services Jill Hennessy.
The state benchmark for ambulances to arrive at code one emergencies – those which require both lights and sirens – is 15 minutes.
Almost 85 per cent of ambulance services in Wyndham arrived at code one emergencies within 15 minutes during the April-June quarter this year, compared to 72.5 per cent in April-June 2016.
Werribee Mercy Hospital treated 9385 patients in its emergency department during the latest quarter, compared to 9129 in the previous three months.
Werribee Mercy’s chief executive of health services, Adjunct Professor Linda Mellors, said the hospital had also reduced the number of patients on its elective surgery waiting list from 782 people to 618 in that time.
She said the hospital had received 1577 ambulance arrivals in the quarter and 90.2 per cent of these patients had been transferred to a ward within 40 minutes, compared to 80.9 per cent in the same period last year.
Professor Mellors said that Wyndham’s growing population meant the hospital faced high demand for its services.
“We continue careful planning and resourcing to meet the requirements needed to care for a growing community,” she said.
“The hospital’s $93 million expansion, which will be complete in mid-2018, is a much-needed public health investment.
“This expansion will include an eight bed critical care unit, six operating theatres and an additional 56 inpatient beds.”
