Northern Health is home to the Victorian Virtual Emergency Department (VVED), which triages and treats patients with non-life-threatening conditions virtually. VVED is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This service is the first of it’s kind in Australia.
All VVED patients receive appropriate care from our highly skilled emergency doctors and nurses. Our doctors are Australian credentialed clinicians, and work from Northern Health’s offices or from home.
There is no referral required, and all patients can connect directly from any personal device with a camera.
Patients can also be connected to the service via Ambulance Victoria, their GP, or other health professionals.
For patients who prefer to speak in their own language, VVED offers interpreting services. This provides the same quality of service for all patients and their families, regardless of ethnicity and level of English. The online registration forms are available in multiple languages.
We also partner with hospitals around the state, residential aged care facilities, Ambulance Victoria, general practitioners, and Primary Health Networks to ensure better access to emergency care.
Northern Health’s Virtual Emergency Department began as a pilot project at Northern Hospital Epping in October 2020 to help patients in the north with COVID-19 symptoms, relieve pressure on emergency waiting rooms, and treat more people from the comfort of their home. The program is now open to all patients across Victoria.
