The Victorian Coalition has pledged to establish up to 10 “transit lounges” across hospitals in the state as part of an initiative aimed at reducing emergency room overcrowding and speeding up patient care. The announcement came amid concerns about ambulance ramping and delays in hospital emergency departments.

Research conducted by Ambulance Victoria’s Centre for Research and Evaluation revealed that between January 2020 and March 2024, ambulance crews lost the equivalent of 9,610 hours daily due to ramping delays, during which ambulances remain stuck outside hospitals waiting to transfer patients. This issue is heavily concentrated in metropolitan Melbourne, where 76.7 percent of ambulance hours lost occurred, largely at 10 key hospitals.

The study identified several factors contributing to these delays, including hospital capacity limitations, availability of inpatient beds, discharge processes, staffing shortages, and operational practices. To address these challenges, the Coalition proposes investing $99 million to create or expand transit lounges at up to 10 hospitals most affected by ambulance ramping.

Transit lounges serve as designated spaces where patients who are medically ready to leave the hospital but awaiting final discharge steps—such as medication administration or transportation—can be accommodated. This approach aims to free up emergency department beds more quickly, improving patient flow and reducing ambulance wait times. Several Victorian hospitals already have transit lounges, including the Royal Melbourne Hospital, University Hospital Geelong, Latrobe Regional Hospital, and the new Footscray Hospital.

Opposition Leader Jess Wilson highlighted the impact of hospital bottlenecks on emergency care, stating that patients often become stuck waiting hours in emergency departments because beds remain occupied by those ready for discharge. Wilson emphasized that the new transit lounges would help alleviate this problem by facilitating faster bed turnover and easing pressure on emergency services.

Opposition health spokesman Georgie Crozier described emergency departments as operating “beyond capacity” and said the high workload on medical staff was unsustainable. Crozier added that ensuring patients receive appropriate care sooner would enable more beds to become available and allow ambulances to return to service more quickly.

While the Coalition has yet to disclose specific hospitals slated to receive new or expanded lounges, the initiative is designed to target facilities experiencing the most severe ambulance ramping issues. The plan aligns with broader efforts to improve hospital efficiency and emergency care delivery in Victoria.