Residential aged care facilities, including those in Wyndham, will be a part of the Victorian government’s new initiative to better and coordinate Triple-0 calls and ease pressure on hospitals and ambulances.
Starting next week, Ambulance Victoria’s triage services will begin using the Virtual ED run out of Northern Health to improve how Triple-0 calls from aged care facilities are are triaged.
In a statement, the government said the new system would allow for some Triple-0 calls for aged care residents who don’t need an emergency ambulance to instead be connected to the Victorian Virtual Emergency Department.
“This expansion into aged care forms part of work underway to boost the overall capacity of the Virtual ED,“ the government said.
“Currently seeing an average of 300 patients per day, additional funding will see the service scale up to seeing more than 500 patients per day, including people living in residential aged care.
“This new virtual service is expected to provide free assessment and consultation to around 80 patients a day and will be appropriate for residents with a variety of conditions or ailments, such as dehydration, unidentified infection or a cognitive event.
“They can then be connected to a range of services and supports such as clinical assessments, medical advice and specialist referrals to better manage or treat their condition.“
