Deaths spike during Vic heat wave: report

Temperatures above 45C across Victoria could have been responsible for a 24 per cent increase in deaths in a single week in January, a report has found.

Figures from Births, Deaths and Marriages and the state coroner show 858 people died during the week in January when temperatures soared above 41C in Melbourne on four consecutive days.

A Victorian health department review compared the number of deaths during the heatwave with the same period in previous years when an average 691 people died.

The additional 167 deaths recorded could have been a result of the hot weather, a health department spokesman said.

Health Minister David Davis said the excess deaths recorded this year were an improvement on previous heatwave periods, a sign that heat warnings are paying off.

"This compares to an estimated 374 excess deaths in the 2009 heatwave which was a 62 per cent increase in mortality, despite the 2014 heatwave lasting one day longer," he said on Monday.

Mr Davis said emergency room presentations rose by seven per cent overall during the 2014 heatwave, including a 23 per cent jump in figures for people aged over 75.

The National Home Doctor Service experienced a 56 per cent increase in calls including triple the usual number of heat-related diagnoses.

Nurse-On-Call also experienced a three-fold rise in calls during the week of the heatwave.

Mr Davis said the report would help with a review of existing heat health plans, which this year included the first State Health Incident Management Team.

"Preparation for the heatwave in Victoria this year had been long underway when Victoria's chief health officer issued the first heat health alert of the year on January 9," Mr Davis said.

Temperatures during the heatwave peaked at 46.5C in Charlton on January 14.