Paramedics across Melbourne’s east are now using Victoria's Virtual Emergency Department (VED) service four or five times a shift, connecting patients with non-urgent problems to emergency clinicians by video instead of taking them to hospital.

Last financial year, 36,500 people across Melbourne’s eastern suburbs used Victoria’s VED service, including 21,040 referred by healthcare professionals such as paramedics, aged care nurses and urgent care centre staff.

Launched in October 2020 as Northern Health’s initial Covid response, the VED was later expanded statewide with support from the State Government, including an initial commitment of $21 million in May 2022 and a further investment of $437 million in the 2025/26 budget.

The service provides urgent medical assessment through a video consultation, allowing patients with non-life-threatening conditions to speak with an emergency clinician without travelling to hospital.

VED clinical director Dr Loren Sher said the service could also help patients navigate follow-up care without requiring a physical emergency department visit.

“You don’t need to go to an emergency department to get a stamp in some special passport to get a specialist clinic appointment you need,” she told the Eastern Melburnian. “I think virtual care is growing and the importance of it is just making sure it’s addressing a specific need. It takes pressure off our emergency departments, which we know are under strain.”

Doctor Sher said the service is supporting about 1,000 patients per day across the state, with plans to reach 1,500 by the end of June 2027.

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🟠 EASTERN MELBOURNE QUIZ QUESTIONS

Question 1: I opened in 1967. I was one of Australia's earliest enclosed regional shopping centres. You can find an owl sculpture along one of the paths around me.

Question 2: I began life as part of Victoria's narrow-gauge railway network. My original purpose wasn't tourism. I was built to connect timber and farming communities. Today, thousands of people ride me for fun.

Question 3: I was built to help protect a nearby town from flooding. Two old sandstone walls along my border are the remains of one of Victoria's early flour mills. My name uses a spelling of a nearby town that locals have argued about for more than a century.

Question 4: I was created without explosives or modern machinery. My purpose was to make a river temporarily disappear. Gold was the motivation. My creators hoped to expose many kilometres of riverbed.

Question 5: Many of my manmade inhabitants don't move. My creator spent decades making them. I'm surrounded by mountain ash and fern-filled bushland.