Victoria will house Covid patients in HOTELS to free up hospital wards
Victoria will house Covid patients in HOTELS to free up hospital wards
- Covid-19 patients who don’t need intensive care to be housed in hotels
- Comes as Dan Andrews’ warns wave of new infections could cause health system to buckle
- He says most Covid patients don’t require intensive care, so can be cared for in a hotel by medical staff
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Victoria will house Covid-19 patients in hotels, as part of an effort to ease pressure on the state’s medical system.
Hotels will be used to house patients who are nearing the end of their hospital stay and in need of lower-level care, with 300 beds made available.
Premier Daniel Andrews announced the change on Thursday and said the current wave of Covid infections could cause the health system to buckle.
‘We have some people that are gravely ill, some people in intensive care, but the vast majority of people are in hospital and not requiring that sort of care,’ he said.
‘If we were to stop isolating people, if we were to stop testing, if we were to let this rip, we’ll finish up not with hundreds of people in general wards, we would finish up with thousands, and we all know what that means.’
Hotels will now be used to house Covid patients who are nearing the end of their hospital stay and in need of lower-level care
Acting health minister James Merlino the hotel facilities will provide an ‘extra buffer’ as the number of patients continues to rise at hospitals.
‘Today’s announcement is a sensible next step to support our frontline workers to help alleviate the pressure on the system,’ he said.
‘All patients will be medically assessed by the hospital before transfer to ensure that they are well enough to be relocated. They’ll remain under the care of the hospital and still be considered an inpatient even while they’re in the medi-hotel.’
Dan Andrews says most Covid patients don’t require intensive care, so can be cared for in a hotel by doctors and nurses
