Tania Maxwell MP says the government will have to work harder and smarter if it’s to fix worsening ambulance emergency response times across Northern Victoria.
The Derryn Hinch’s Justice Party Member for Northern Victoria said Ambulance Victoria performance data for April-June quarter released this week showed the service on average got to a code one call-out patient inside the 15-minute target in just two of the 27 local government areas in her electorate.
“The average response time in Mildura was 14:08 minutes, and 13:56 minutes in Wodonga, compared with 20:35 minutes on average across the electorate,” Ms Maxwell said.
“This is good news for people in the only city in the Sunraysia and Mallee and Wodonga’s communities.
“But if you’re in Buloke shire and called triple zero it took more than double that time – 30:29 minutes. That’s three minutes longer than it took in the January-March quarter and 2:19 minutes longer than a year ago.
“Paramedics are doing their absolute best to respond to these critical emergency calls, so why are response times between March and June going backwards in 21 of 27 local government areas and getting better only in one – Mansfield – between one year and the next?
“The government’s ploughing hundreds of millions of dollars into recruitment, training and more emergency call-takers, but communities are yet to see any significant improvements in performance response and our resolute, hard-working paramedics remain under sustained pressure.
“I’ve brought to ministers’ and parliament’s attention many times the challenges my communities face with Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority call-handling, ambulance emergency response times, hospital ramping and how community paramedics and first-responder services could be supported to reduce the strains on our health system.
“In a letter late last month I encouraged new Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas to consider how the government could alleviate demand on our ambulance and hospital services.
“I again advocated for public investment in community paramedic services like HMS Community, already working in central Victoria and the North East to keep people out of emergency queues, and boosting the Country Fire Authority first responder pilot to deal with code one call-outs until an ambulance arrives.
“These are practical solutions. They work. We risk lives by doing the same thing again and again and expecting different results.”
