Access to Emergency Healthcare

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This audit assessed whether the Department of Health and responsible agencies are addressing Victorians’ need for timely and equitable access to emergency healthcare.

4. Guiding and training

The quality of DH's guidance is improving and councils are accessing it more often. However, it does not always meet council needs.

DH’s training and workshops are effective, but EHOs need more regular sessions and refresher training throughout the year.

3. Reporting performance

DH’s statewide food safety reporting does not include useful or timely information about how effectively councils are managing food safety. DH and councils need better performance data to measure food safety outcomes.

The LGPRF provides some insight into the efficiency and effectiveness of food safety management. However, councils do not always calculate results consistently and it is difficult to assess their performance without targets.

2. Monitoring compliance

Not all the audited councils are meeting all their obligations under the Food Act.

None of the audited councils consistently use active surveillance to find unregistered food premises. They are also not assessing or inspecting all food premises.

The councils are responsive to community complaints and provide procedural fairness. However, they could improve their recording and reporting of food safety complaints.