Virtual care does the job

By Lachlan Ellis

Local paramedics have been hard at work getting the word out about alternate care options to calling Triple Zero, which offer a quicker way of getting medical attention.

Ballan paramedic Hannah Zerna is one local emergency service worker promoting pathways such as the Victorian Virtual Emergency Department (VVED) and Priority Primary Care Centres (PPCC), which provide care to those who need it quickly, but don’t need an emergency response.

“Our alternate care pathways include partnership with VVED, which was developed by Northern Health in October 2020 to deal with COVID. Since then, they’ve received funding and they’ve rolled out Victoria-wide. Now everybody has access to emergency department physicians from their own homes, paediatric specialists, geriatricians, palliative care…it’s a wonderful free service,” Ms Zerna said.

“There’s also PPCCs, they’ve opened one at the UFS in Ballarat on Sturt Street. They’re open 365 days a year from 10 am to 10 pm. They’re GP-led, they also have nursing staff on hand, so they can take care of those urgent care needs.”

Ms Zerna has been promoting the two alternate care options with local stakeholders such as businesses and residents, and is also working on a partnership with local schools.

The drive to raise awareness has meant people like café worker Jess – or rather, Jess’ son – have been able to get the care they need when hospitals have been unavailable.

“VVED was very good. I went into Bacchus Marsh and tried to get to the doctors…all three doctors there, couldn’t get in. I tried here in Ballan as well. I’d just started working at the Tin Plate and seen the brochures, and asked my boss about it. She said it was really good and she’d used it,” Jess said.

“I went home that afternoon, called them, and it probably took 40 minutes all up, it was so easy. My son had an infected finger, he definitely needed antibiotics…I had to get onto it, the days were going by, and his finger was getting bigger. But I physically couldn’t get in anywhere…VVED saved me really.”

The alternate care services are not only easy to use, but highly effective and stop congestion of Triple Zero and emergency care – Ms Zerna says, “between October 2020 and June 2023, they saw over 110,000 adults and children across Victoria, and 71 per cent of those were delivered safe effective care at home, and didn’t need to present to the emergency department”.

For more information on VVED and PPCCs, visit www.ambulance.vic.gov.au.