The Victorian Respiratory Support Service (VRSS) is celebrating 30-years as a statewide service caring for people with complex respiratory conditions.

The service officially began on 1 July 1996 following the closure of Fairfield Hospital. Patients who required long term respiratory support, including people who had relied on iron lungs, transferred to Austin Hospital. VRSS was established to continue their care and has been supporting Victorians ever since.

Thirty years later, the service looks very different. Today, the team supports around 2,200 active patients, including approximately 1,350 people who rely on long term ventilation. Patients come from across Victoria, southern New South Wales and Tasmania, with conditions including motor neurone disease, neuromuscular disorders, spinal cord injury and chronic lung disease.

While many people know VRSS for its home ventilation program, the team's work extends well beyond that. Staff care for patients in hospital and in the community, provide outpatient and virtual care, support carers through education and training, and work with Satellite centres in other major health services across the state. The team also operates Australia's only dedicated Ventilation Weaning Unit, helping patients reduce or stop their reliance on ventilation where possible and in the past year established the Virtual VRSS service, delivering more of this specialist respiratory care in the home using the latest home ventilation technology.

Many patients stay connected with VRSS for years, and some for decades. During that time, staff build strong relationships with patients, their families and carers, working alongside colleagues from across Austin Health, such as the ICU, the Victorian Spinal Cord Service, Neurology, the Sleep Laboratory and many others, to provide coordinated care.

Professor Mark Howard, Director of the Victorian Respiratory Support Service, said reaching 30 years was a proud milestone for everyone who had helped shape the service.

“Looking back over the past 30 years, it's incredible to see how much the service has grown and evolved. Our whole team is incredibly proud of the many innovations that have enabled world leading care. Most importantly, we've been able to help thousands of people receive specialist respiratory care while continuing to live at home,” Mark said.

Senior Respiratory Physiotherapist and VRSS Project Officer Caroline Chao said one of the most rewarding parts of working in VRSS was the long-term relationships staff build with patients and families.

"Many of our patients remain with us for years, so we get to know them and their families incredibly well. It's a privilege to support people through different stages of their lives and help them stay safe, independent and at home," Caroline said.

Dr George Taleporos, Chair of the VRSS Consumer Advisory Group and a long-time consumer of the service, said the anniversary was also an opportunity to recognise the impact VRSS has had on the lives of patients and their families.

"As Chair of the VRSS Consumer Advisory Group and a long-time consumer of the service, I have experienced firsthand the extraordinary difference VRSS makes. Its world-leading expertise, innovation and deeply person-centred approach give people with complex respiratory needs the confidence and support to live safely at home and participate fully in our communities,” George said. 

“I am profoundly grateful to the clinicians, researchers and staff, past and present, whose skill, compassion and commitment have transformed and sustained so many lives. Thirty years is an incredible milestone, and the VRSS team should be immensely proud of the service they have built and the enduring impact it continues to have for consumers and our families."

The service continues to grow as demand increases, with the number of active patients more than doubling over the past decade. Alongside caring for patients every day, the team continues to lead research, embrace virtual care and develop new ways of delivering specialist respiratory support to people across Victoria.

Congratulations to everyone in VRSS, past and present, on reaching this significant milestone!