Elective surgery will temporarily be reduced to urgent procedures only for public and private hospitals in metropolitan Melbourne and major regional cities across Victoria from Thursday 6 January, to help hospitals respond to the increasing number of patients with coronavirus.
All emergency surgery and urgent elective surgery will continue.
As the Omicron strain continues to spread rapidly, these changes will reduce the strain on our hospitals by ensuring as many resources as possible are available across the system to manage both COVID-19 demand, as well as other patients with emergency and urgent medical needs.
Elective surgery reductions will also help to make sure our dedicated healthcare workers can focus on managing existing demand and preparing for additional coronavirus patients.
The reductions will apply to public health services in Melbourne and Barwon Health, Ballarat Health Services campus of Grampians Health, Bendigo Health, Goulburn Valley Health and Latrobe Regional Hospital.
Private hospitals and day procedure centres in Melbourne and private hospitals in Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, the Latrobe Valley and Shepparton will also be required to follow the same restrictions.
Elective surgery procedures where the patient is already scheduled for admission on 6 and 7 January 2022, may still occur where it is not safe or logistically possible to postpone.
These changes will enable public and private hospitals to work as one system to make the best use of available capacity.
Those waiting for non-urgent elective surgery who are impacted by the changes are encouraged to reach out to their general practitioner should their condition in any way deteriorate, so they can be reviewed and re-prioritised to a more urgent category if required.
Surgery settings will continue to be reviewed regularly to ensure enough beds for coronavirus patients are maintained and non-urgent surgery can resume when it is safe to do so.
Reviewed 05 January 2022
Health.vic
-
- Hospitals & health services
- Health Service Partnerships
- Public hospitals in Victoria
-
- Quality, safety and service improvement
- Planned surgery recovery and reform program
- My Health Record
- Public hospital accreditation in Victoria
- Credentialing for senior medical staff in Victoria
- Clinical risk management
- Preventing infections in health services
- Healthy choices
- Victorian Perinatal Data Collection
-
- Rural health
- Improving Access to Primary Care in Rural and Remote Areas Initiative
- Rural x-ray services
- Rural health regions and locations
- Rural and regional medical director role
- Victorian Patient Transport Assistance Scheme
- Rural and isolated practice registered nurses
- Urgent care in regional and rural Victoria
-
- Private health service establishments
- Private hospitals
- Day procedure centres
- Mobile health services
- Fees for private health service establishments in Victoria
- Design resources for private health service establishments
- Professional standards in private health service establishments
- Legislation updates for private health service establishments
- Complaints about private health service establishments
- Cosmetic procedures
- Guideline for providers of liposuction
- Private hospital funding agreement
-
- Primary & community health
- Local Public Health Units
- Integrated care
-
- Maternal and Child Health Service
- Nursery Equipment Program
- Maternal and Child Health Service Framework
- Maternal and Child Health Service resources
- Child Development Information System
- Early parenting centres
- Maternal Child and Health Reporting, Funding and Data
- Baby bundle
- Sleep and settling
- Maternal and Child Health Workforce professional development
- Aboriginal Maternal and Child Health
- Public Dental and Community Health Program funding model review
-
- Public health
-
- Cemeteries and crematoria
- Cemetery trust member appointments
- Cemetery search
- Cemeteries and crematoria complaints
- Cremations
- Exhumations
- Governance and finance
- Cemetery grants
- Interments and memorials
- Land and development
- Legislation governing Victorian cemeteries and crematoria
- Cemeteries and crematoria publications
- Repatriations
- Rights of interment
-
- Medicines and Poisons Regulation
- Patient Schedule 8 treatment permits
- Schedule 8 MDMA and Schedule 8 psilocybine
- Schedule 9 permits for clinical trials
- Documents and forms to print or download
- Legislation and Approvals
- Frequently Asked Questions - Medicines and Poisons Regulation
- Health practitioners
- Licences and permits to possess (& possibly supply) scheduled substances
- Medicinal cannabis
- Pharmacotherapy (opioid replacement therapy)
- Recent updates
- SafeScript
-
- Environmental health
- Improving childhood asthma management in Melbourne's inner west
- Climate and weather, and public health
- Environmental health in the community
- Environmental health in the home
- Environmental health professionals
- Face masks for environmental hazards
- Human health risk assessments
- Lead and human health
- Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)
- Pesticide use and pest control
-
- Immunisation
- Seasonal influenza vaccine
- Immunisation schedule and vaccine eligibility criteria
- Ordering vaccine
- Immunisers in Victoria
- Immunisation provider information
- Cold chain management
- Adverse events following immunisation reporting
- Vaccine error management
- Vaccination for infants and children
- Vaccination for adolescents
- Vaccination program for adults
- Vaccination for special-risk groups
- Immunisation resources order form
- Victorian coverage rates for Victoria
-
- Mental health
-
- About Victoria's mental health services
- Area-based services
- Statewide and specialist mental health services
- Mental Health Community Support Services
- Support and intervention services
- Language services - when to use them
- Access to mental health services across areas
- Transport for people in mental health services
-
- Alcohol & drugs
-
- Alcohol and other drug treatment services
- Overview of Victoria's alcohol and drug treatment system
- Pathways into alcohol and other drugs treatment
- Prevention and harm reduction
- Medically supervised injecting room
- Victoria's Take-Home Naloxone Program
- Community-based AOD treatment services in Victoria
- Drug rehabilitation plan
- Hospital-based services
- Forensic services
- Pharmacotherapy treatment
- Services for Aboriginal people
- Services for young people
- Statewide and specialist services
- Compulsory treatment
- Family and peer support
-
- Alcohol and other drug service standards and guidelines
- Alcohol and other drug client charter and resources
- Alcohol and other drug treatment principles
- Service quality and accreditation
- Alcohol and other drug program guidelines
- Maintenance pharmacotherapy
- Drink and Drug Driving Behaviour Change Program
- Alcohol and Other Drug Residential Rehabilitation Facility Design Guidelines
- Specialist Family Violence Advisor capacity building program in mental health and alcohol and other drug services - Victoria
-
- Ageing & aged care
- My Aged Care assessment services
-
- Dementia-friendly environments
- Designing for people with dementia
- Maintaining personal identity
- Personal enjoyment
- Interior design
- Dining areas, kitchens and eating
- Bedrooms and privacy
- Bathrooms
- Gardens and outdoor spaces
- Assistive technology
- Staff education and support
- Strategies, checklists and tools
- References
-
- About us
- Our Strategic Plan 2023-27
-
- Our organisation
- Our secretary
- Leadership charter
- Our services
- Our vision and values
- Gifts, benefits and hospitality policy
- Information Asset Register
- Our ministers
-
- Health workforce
- Working in health
- Information sharing and MARAM
- Aboriginal healthcare workers
- Allied health workforce
- Education and training
- Enterprise agreements
- Worker health and wellbeing
- Our campaigns