Many hospitals ‘already doing’ most measures available under Code Brown

The unprecedented system-wide Code Brown in Victoria’s public hospitals “indicates just how bad the situation is”, the boss of the state’s healthcare association says.

But Victorian Healthcare Association CEO, Tom Symondson, says most hospitals have already enacted many of the powers available to them under the code.

“What those plans allow you to do is redeploy staff from one place to another, to different jobs, ask them to work longer shifts, it allows you to cancel things that are not urgent, it even allows you to cancel some things that are urgent, but not as urgent as others,” he told Ross and Russel.

“Most hospitals that I talk to, the Code Brown will allow them to do some additional things, but most of those things we’ve already been doing.

“We’ve already been asking people to come back from leave early, work longer shifts, we’re not doing non-urgent elective surgery already.”

The code covers all public metropolitan hospitals and six large regional hospitals — Barwon Health, Grampians Health, Bendigo Health, Goulburn Valley Health, Albury Wodonga Health and La Trobe Regional Hospital — and is expected to last for four to six weeks, as COVID-19 cases in hospital climb and staff furloughing remains a serious issue.

Press PLAY below to hear more about the measures Victoria’s public hospitals have already taken