The Victorian ECMO Service is a model of care which collaborates with hospitals across Victoria. The model of care is broken down as below:
The Comprehensive centre care for patients on ECMO, and participates in the retrieval of ECMO patients. They offer all forms of ECMO support like heart and lung transplantation and mechanical ventricular assist devices. The tier one site accepts patients retrieved from all other hospitals including complex patients retrieved from Intermediate and Initiation centres.
Intermediate ECMO Centres provide care of ECMO patients from their own site and for patients referred from elsewhere (who do not require treatments only available at the Tier 1 site). Tier two sites participate in the retrieval and support service as part of the Victorian ECMO Service, and offer all forms of ECMO support. Intermediate centres have cardiac surgery capability to assist with complication management and to ensure adequate service volume.
Initiation Centres are designated to provide timely access to support for the wider population. initiation sites should be resourced to provide care for up to 48 hours whilst awaiting the VECMOS retrieval team. Patients who are not appropriate for ongoing care may not be accepted for transfer to another VECMOS site.
Beyond these 7 hospitals, other hospitals will rarely need to initiate ECMO. Most hospitals will refer patients to a centralised referral service that will arrange assessment and ECMO initiation and retrieval if required. Over time, other hospitals will become Tier Three sites when services and staffing allow.
Coordinates referrals and inter-hospital transfer of patients referred for ECMO.