Arabic version: خدمة ألبوري وودونغا الصحية تدعو إلى خروج المرضى مبكراً

According to ABC News, Albury Wodonga Health has advised doctors to consider sending patients home earlier where safe as the cross-border regional service faces overwhelming demand linked to a late flu season. An email from chief medical officer Simon Craig, sent on Thursday and verified by ABC, said the pressure was expected to continue for days.

Doctors were asked to consider early discharge planning and rounds, and to empower registrars to discharge patients without a physical consultant review where it was safe. The email also raised Hospital In The Home and virtual-care options. Dr Craig said the organisation would look at how to optimise patient flow and bed use, adding that resources were limited and staff needed to collaborate.

The health service said it had warned residents on September 8 about increasing demand for inpatient beds caused by a respiratory illness surge. A spokesperson said the sustained demand was affecting patient flow and could mean longer waits for some people needing admission. Patients with critical or life-threatening conditions would continue to be seen immediately, the spokesperson said, while operational changes were made with patient safety as the first priority and under standard clinical governance and protocols.

Better Border Health reported a 61-bed deficit at the service on Thursday. Spokesperson Stan Stavros said daily bed shortages were frequently reported at between 40 and 70, arguing that hospitals should have spare capacity for demand surges rather than a persistent deficit. Community concern about pressure on the service has continued as construction proceeds at Albury hospital and a proposed $558 million redevelopment has drawn criticism over its ability to meet future regional needs.

The strain has also been reflected across Victoria, where the Department of Health and Human Services reported a 400 per cent increase in flu cases since the end of July. Victoria’s chief health officer, Caroline McElnay, said this year’s seasonal spike had arrived later and similar patterns were occurring in New South Wales and New Zealand. She said it was not too late for people to be vaccinated.