NORTHEAST Health Wangaratta (NHW) will be reviewing the details of the Federal Government’s announcement on Wednesday to increase elective surgery category two and some category three procedures.

The State Government also announced Victoria’s private and public hospitals will begin doing more elective surgeries from next week following a slowdown of new COVID-19 cases.

NHW chief executive officer Tim Griffiths said the hospital would look at a gradual restart of elective surgery, potentially increasing up to 25 per cent.

“The Victorian Department of Health and Humans Services (DHHS) is working with NHW to establish what our increased personal protective equipment, staffing and facility needs will be,” Mr Griffiths said.

“From this they will determine how to support this as they consider all the needs across the state, this could take up to two weeks before we get DHHS approval to go ahead.

“Our partnership of ‘public in private’ with the Wangaratta Private Hospital and with our medical workforce will be an advantage in this elective surgery restart.”

For NHW these procedures will include:
• procedures for children under 18 years of age;
• joint replacements (including knees, hips and shoulders); and
• endoscopy and colonoscopy procedures.

Meanwhile there is no increase in positive COVID-19 cases in the Rural City of Wangaratta.

The two people diagnoed remain in self-isolation at home.

No further cases have been confirmed to date in Benalla Rural City or Mansfield Shire with three cases each, and 11 cases in Moira Shire.
There are no COVID-19 positive inpatients at NHW and 983 screening calls have been completed to date and 493 patients have been tested.