AN increase in demand on Central Gippsland Health Service's emergency department is thought to be partly attributable to a shortage of doctors in the area.
According to the State Government's Your Hospitals 2008-09 report, 15,066 patients were seen in the emergency department throughout 2008-09 - up by 666 patients, or five per cent in the previous year.
As reported in the Gippsland Times last month, doctors across East Gippsland faced a patient ratio of one GP for every 1227 - 200 more than the state-wide average of 1007 patients.
According to CGHS chief executive Frank Evans, the results of the report can be attributed to a number of reasons - one of which was a shortage of general practitioners in the area.
"We're probably treating 2000 more patients now than we were three or four years ago,'' Mr Evans said.
"Some of those number would reflect that GP practices are very busy in the area.''
Overall the health service has received a glowing report.
According to the Your Hospitals report, hospitals and health services have improved their services across the board, treating record numbers of patients needing emergency care and elective surgery, and treating them faster.
The report commented that CGHS had improved strongly throughout the year, with several key performances including:
5990 patients admitted from January to June this year, an increase from the 5665 patients admitted in the same period in 2008; and
100 per cent of category one emergency patients were treated immediately on arrival at the emergency department in 2008-09.
Mr Evans said since CGHS had recently redeveloped its emergency department infrastructure, there had also been several new measures taken to reduce patient waiting time in the emergency department.
"We've been focusing on reducing the waiting times, that if a patient is admitted to the emergency department, they are moved out of there as soon as possible.
"We've also been setting up more timely and effective communications between hospital co-ordinators and shift changeovers, so that patient transfer is more streamlined.''
While CGHS was a stand-out example, the Australian Medical Association Victoria president Dr Harry Hemley said the health service was the exception and not the rule for the rest of Victoria's healthcare services.
State-wide, more than 107,000 patients missed out on emergency department care within clinically appropriate time frames in the 2008-09 period, yet this number was a decrease from the 118,000 last year.
More than 262,000 patients did not receive a bed within eight hours or were discharged within four hours from emergency departments - an increase of 17,000 from last year.
"The 400 extra beds that the Victorian Government introduced last financial year have made a fair difference,'' Dr Hemley said.
"But these figures clearly show we need more beds to serve Victoria's growing population.''
"These figures show that with more beds, more capacity and innovative solutions we can improve.
"However, our hospitals need more help; we have a growing population and people are going to get sick.
"We must do better.''
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