“While we will always have as many crews on the road as we can, every call that isn’t an emergency puts even further strain on them to reach those who need us the most.”
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Ambulance Victoria encouraged those who don’t need emergency transport to consider visiting the GP or a priority primary care centre, or travel to the emergency department by their own means if they are well enough. Victorians can also get support from their pharmacist or the Nurse-on-Call hotline.
A code red – where non-emergency ambulances begin responding to cases and patients are rapidly offloaded at hospitals – has not occurred in Victoria since 2022.
More than one in three of the 20,000 influenza cases reported across Australia in 2024 have been in a child under 15 years of age. Childhood flu rates are up 20 per cent on 2023.
Dr Anthea Rhodes, a paediatrician at the Royal Children’s Hospital, said it was concerning that flu vaccination rates among children were so low at the start of Melbourne’s winter.
Less than one in seven children aged under 15 have been vaccinated against this year’s flu strain, according to the hospital’s national child health poll.
Paediatrician Anthea Rhodes, director of the Royal Children’s Hospital national child health poll.Credit: Joe Armao
“The flu is the leading cause of vaccine-preventable hospitalisation for children aged under five and
can cause serious illness and even death,” said Rhodes, the director of the child health poll.
“The flu is seasonal with infections peaking between June and September, which means the good
news is it’s not too late to vaccinate.”
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Source Agencies
