Illegal drug use tying up hospital resources
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A senior doctor in Ballarat says illicit drug use is putting enormous pressure on the city's health services.
A 17-year-old boy was treated in the Ballarat Base Hospital on Sunday night for a drug overdose, but he was transferred to Melbourne yesterday because there was not an intensive care bed in Ballarat.
The director of emergency health at the Ballarat Base Hospital, Jason Cruickshank, says the case occupied most of the hospital's resources.
"It only takes one case. We had 10 staff looking after the one patient, so I really feel for the people on Sunday evening sitting in the emergency department waiting to be cared for, when one case that's preventable is taking up so much of our time," he said.
