Albury Wodonga Health has declared a Code Yellow as it once again struggles to meet high demand.
A Code Yellow indicates an internal emergency that can reduce the capacity for hospitals to function normally.
The code was called on Wednesday night, just days after the health service had warned the public via its social media of excessive wait times at its emergency departments.
The code means 32 of today's planned elective surgeries will be rescheduled, while some patients will be transferred to neighbouring health services.
Staff have been deployed to create additional care points at Albury and Wodonga hospital sites in non-traditional areas, while more staff have also been directed to work in the Albury and the Wodonga emergency department waiting rooms.
Additional strategies to care for the huge patient load are being considered and will be assessed over the next 24 to 48 hours.
Why is Albury Wodonga Health struggling?
Albury Wodonga Health has dealt with 209 emergency department presentations in the past 24 hours. It usually sees an average of 180.
This has resulted in 37 24-hour breaches in the past seven days, including 17 in the past 24 hours.
A 24-hour breach is when a person spends longer than 24 hours in an emergency department.
Many of those are very sick patients.
"It's an issue around volume but also complexity," Albury Wodonga Health chief executive William Appleby said.
"People are actually entering into our ED departments quite unwell and requiring admissions."
The struggle to meet demand is coupled with insufficient bed capacity in acute hospital facilities.
It comes on the back of a strained local primary care sector and difficulty in people being able to access general practitioners, combined with flu and COVID pressures.
"I think it's well understood [that] the primary health sector is again very challenged," Mr Appleby said.
"We know there are only 51 GP practices in the whole north-east and they are certainly challenged in their ability to provide primary health."
Patients are also having to wait longer for suitable, safe and supported discharge.
The hospital is working to provide rapid offload where possible to prevent ambulances from ramping.
Mr Appleby said he would welcome a visit from the newly appointed NSW Health Minister Ryan Park to see the hospital's struggles firsthand.
"It's a very stressful environment, a very challenging environment."
It's the health service's first Code Yellow for 2023, but it had declared multiple in 2022.
Pressures are also reported to be felt at neighbouring health services at Wagga Wagga and Shepparton.
Temporary measures
The Code Yellow follows calls made by Farrer MP Sussan Ley this week that Victoria was delayed in responding to an application to provide the health service with 30 temporary beds.
The health service has engaged with consultants to develop a report over the next eight weeks to investigate creating temporary facilities, similar to those used at Werribee Mercy Hospital's emergency department and temporary wards at Monash Health Casey Hospital.
Mr Appleby said the Code Yellow highlighted the need for the beds long before a new building was scheduled for 2027.
