Elective surgeries have been deferred at some of Melbourne’s largest hospitals as staff shortages put pressure on already busy services.
The Alfred has paused elective surgeries for a week because a high number of key clinical staff are off sick due to COVID-19.
AAP has been told it’s the hospital’s highest level of staff sick leave since early 2022.
But all emergency surgery at The Alfred is continuing, with the hospital responding to an increase in trauma cases.
“We apologise to all patients affected by this difficult situation,” a spokesperson for The Alfred told AAP in a statement.
“This is not a decision we have taken lightly. This change is necessary to ensure we maintain capacity to continue to care for patients in our hospitals and those who arrive needing lifesaving emergency surgery.”
“We believe we are at the peak of this wave’s impact within our health service, and efforts are underway to reschedule impacted patients.”
The Royal Melbourne Hospital also confirmed on Wednesday that some elective surgery had been postponed, although planned category one and urgent category two surgeries will still go ahead.
The hospital has cited an increase in demand and staff illness as reasons for the changes.
“Unfortunately, due to these impacts, some patients may have their surgeries deferred,” a spokesperson told AAP in a statement.
“We are reviewing this on a daily basis and thank Victorians for their patience and support.”
It comes after the Royal Children’s Hospital told families to reconsider going to the emergency department on Monday night after wait times rose to 12 hours.
There were 100 patients seeking treatment from a doctor at 9 p.m. on Monday.
The Royal Children’s chief executive Bernadette McDonald on Tuesday said there were 120 staff members off each day because of COVID-19.
