WERRIBEE Mercy Hospital’s emergency department spent more than 193 hours on bypass over a three-month period last year.
Documents obtained under freedom of information legislation reveals that patients were transferred to other facilities 97 times as the hospital could not keep up with demand from July to September.
They showed that in September the emergency department was on bypass for 94 hours citing a full department as the primary reason.
In August bypass was used for 60.5 hours due to nurse shortages, a full waiting room and packed cubicles.
The emergency department was on bypass for 39.25 hours in July.
Shadow Health Minister David Davis said the Government’s mismanagement had placed emergency rooms across the state in crisis.
“These shocking figures reveal that the emergency department very often went on bypass because beds were blocked,” he said.
Mr Davies said beds were being closed state-wide despite Victoria’s ageing population.
A State Government spokesperson said bypass was an important tool used by clinicians to ensure the health system was available to patients.
He said the hospital had a fine record of treating its emergency patients quickly.
