Cost of living pressures are believed to be behind an increase in the number of people presenting to Ballarat Base Hospital's emergency department with minor illness and injuries.
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Compared to the same time last year, the number of people visiting the ED with category four complaints during January, February and March this year increased 41 per cent and the number of category five patients increased 81 per cent.
Almost 4500 category four and five patients turned up at the ED during the first quarter of 2024 compared to 3109 for the same period in 2023 - a 44 per cent increase overall.
Across all categories of patient the Ballarat Base ED treated 12,894 across January, February and March this year, the equivalent of 143 patients a day.
The number of category four and five patients with less urgent illness and injury had fallen significantly following the opening of the UFS-run Priority Primary Care Clinic in Windermere Street at the end of October 2022, but the number of patients coming to ED in this category has been rising over the past 12 months as interest rate increases and inflation put pressure on family budgets.
"Maybe less people are going to the GP if they have to pay and that's been a factor," said Grampians Health chief operating officer of hospitals Ben Kelly.
Mr Kelly said he had spoken to UFS who said they were still treating about 50 patients a day at the PPCC and had not seen any drop off in numbers.
Despite the increase in the number of patients presenting to the ED, staff reduced the waiting time to treatment for all categories of patients although they were still below the statewide average.
Mr Kelly said while January and February had seen improvement at the hospital, March got "a bit more challenging".
"At the moment, at the beginning of May, compared to the same time last year this is a really at risk period because of increasing winter illness and increasing COVID presentations," he said.
As of Monday morning there were 14 COVID positive patients in the hospital, enough to impact bed availability and staffing. Influenza is also sweeping through the community.
Planned surgery also impacts bed availability to transfer patients from the ED to wards.
Mr Kelly said the hospital was "trying to get that balance right" to ensure as many elective surgery cases as possible can be completed while having enough beds for patients coming through emergency.
Some planned surgery is being completed at other network hospitals including Maryborough, Horsham, Ararat and Stawell to free up beds in Ballarat, but some patients are reluctant to travel to have their surgery.
"People are still a little reluctant when afforded the opportunity. It can be challenging from a logistical point of view depending on personal circumstance," he said.
A state-wide focus on non-surgical options is also helping balance the waiting list, with allied health clinicians working with patients on the waiting list to explore if there are alternatives to surgery, and in other cases clinicians are working with patients before their planned surgery to improve their 'readiness for surgery' which can reduce their recovery time and deliver reduced hospital stays.
The Victorian Agency for Health Information quarterly Victorian Health Services Performance Report also revealed the average time to transfer patients from an ambulance to the emergency department was 27 during the January to March 2024 quarter, down from 34 minutes the previous quarter.
The average ambulance response time to emergency "lights and sirens" dispatch calls was 10.4 minutes, down from 10.87 minutes from the previous quarter.
