St John of God Geelong Hospital Emergency Department temporary reduced hours

2 Jan 2023

St John of God Geelong Hospital has advised that from 2 January 2023, its emergency department will reduce its normal 24/7 opening hours to the temporary opening hours of 7.00am to 10.00pm.

St John of God Geelong Hospital CEO Stephen Roberts said that the decision had been made in the interests of patient safety.

“Due to a temporary shortage of medical staff, we are not able to staff a full 24-hour roster,” he said.

“Emergency services clinical care is highly specialised and therefore shortages cannot be filled from our existing workforce.

“We have reduced hours to ensure we can optimise resources to meet patient demands at the busiest times.”

Mr Roberts apologised for the temporary reduction of hours and said that the hospital was focused on ensuring the community was aware of the reduced hours.

“We are working with our external stakeholders to ensure those requiring urgent medical assistance have clear alternatives,” he said.

“The ambulance service has been fully briefed, and we will put in place a number of measures to reduce the potential for patients presenting at the hospital during the hours the service is not available.”

Mr Roberts said the hospital expected to reinstate the overnight service within the coming weeks once its medical workforce is stabilised.

“All health services have been affected by the global shortage of health care workers and furlough requirements to reduce the potential for COVID transmission, however we are very confident that our ongoing recruitment strategies will enable the resumption of the 24/7 service” he said.