Melbourne's key city hospitals were on Friday night caring for dozens of people battered by the car that careered through the CBD, and one had a witness so traumatised by the event they were suffering chest pains.
Both the Royal Melbourne and St Vincent's called external disaster codes around 2.30pm when they learnt of the possibility of mass casualties. The codes meant their emergency departments were cleared of patients who did not need to be there, so staff were ready to care for all incoming patients from the CBD.
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Spokespeople for the Royal Melbourne, St Vincent's and the Alfred hospitals said they were caring for 23 people between them. Injuries included fractured hips, legs, and facial bones.
It was unclear how many people were in a life threatening condition, but a spokeswoman for the Alfred said six people were "critical". Several people at all of the hospitals were receiving emergency surgery during the evening.
Chief of surgery at the Royal Children's Hospital, Mike O'Brien said a three month old baby was having surgery about 5pm on Friday and that a two year old was in the intensive care unit. They were among five people being cared for at the hospital, including a 23-year-old woman with a limb injury, a nine-year-old with a limb injury, and a 13-year-old who was in a stable condition.
"Given the nature of the trauma we have a mixture of injuries from orthopaedic to neurosurgical and possibly some abdominal injuries, we're currently still investigating that," Dr O'Brien said about 5pm.
A spokeswoman for St Vincent's Hospital said one of its six patients was a witness to the event who presented with chest pain and other health problems.
A spokesman for the Victorian department of health said emergency services had coped with the event well and that no state emergency plan had been enacted.
Premier Daniel Andrews praised emergency services workers, saying they had done a "first class" job in the "most extreme of circumstances".
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