The RCH Emergency Department is currently experiencing unprecedented demand with a high number of presentations of extremely unwell children. We are asking families to seek alternative care this evening, where possible.

We will always treat the most seriously ill children first which unfortunately means some patients with less serious conditions may experience longer wait times. Currently there are more than 90 patients in the Emergency Department. More than 50 per cent of patients who arrived this afternoon have been triaged as lower acuity (Triage 4 or 5). We anticipate wait times for these less seriously unwell patients will potentially reach more than 12 hours this evening.

With extremely high levels of acuity of our already admitted inpatients, it is not safe to discharge patients to free up beds. We have flexed our inpatient wards where it is safe to do so. Staff have volunteered to work extra shifts and we have put a call out to unrostered clinical staff to assist.

We are asking families to try Nurse on Call, the Victorian Virtual Emergency Department or online telehealth options as alternatives. If your child is critically ill, always call 000.

Nurse on Call: 1300 60 60 24

The Victorian Virtual Emergency Department: https://www.vved.org.au/

GP respiratory clinics: https://www.health.vic.gov.au/covid-19/gp-respiratory-clinics-and-hospital-respiratory-clinics-covid-19