Melbourne Royal Children’s hospital 12-hour wait times blamed on summer viruses and lack of bulk-billing GPs

Demand back to normal in emergency department after long wait times for some patients with less urgent illness

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The Royal Children's hospital in Melbourne is back to normal" levels of demand after a surge on Monday night that led to emergency wait times of up to 12 hours.

Dr Sarah Arachchi, a general paediatrician who works across public and private hospitals in Melbourne, said a lack of bulk-billing doctors, summer viruses including Covid-19, and health anxiety among carers had led to the hospital having to urge people to seek alternative care if their child's condition was not urgent.

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