In Victoria, two medi-hotels will be set up to help care for the growing number of Covid-19 patients needing lower-level care to ease pressure on the hospital system.
Hotel quarantine sites are being transformed into medi-hotels from Monday, 17 January, providing ‘hospital in the home’ style care for low acuity patients in a highly controlled environment and with all the amenities of existing health hotels.
Victorian Acting Health Minister James Merlino said the medi-hotels would provide an extra buffer at a time when Covid-19 case numbers and related hospital admissions are rising.
“Patients will receive high-quality care from health professionals in a hotel setting, making even better use of the sources we have available,” he said.
The medi-hotels will have capacity to provide care for over 300 patients at a time – in partnership with Northern Health and Royal Melbourne Hospital and will alleviate pressures on the hospital networks by freeing up beds for patients with higher-care needs, while making good use of existing space in the hotel quarantine network.
CQV will retain operational management of the hotels and Victoria Police will continue its on-site security function.
Hotel quarantine for unvaccinated returned overseas travellers and emergency accommodation for community members and frontline workers will continue at separate hotels not being used as medi-hotels.
