Media statement
February 8, 2022
Tania Maxwell MP has welcomed Ambulance Victoria’s improved emergency response times in Wangaratta, Towong, Indigo and Mount Alexander local government communities in the quarter ending December 31, 2021.
The Derryn Hinch’s Justice Party Member for Northern Victoria said code one call-out performance year-on-year improved 38 seconds in Wangaratta to 13:08 minutes, on average, in response to 506 calls.
In Indigo Shire, performance improved 1:22 minutes, to 21:50 minutes, for 180 calls, and 4:32 minutes in Towong Shire, to 25:48 minutes, for 75 calls.
In Mount Alexander Shire, another of the 27 local government areas Ms Maxwell represents, performance was better by 48 seconds, to 18:24 minutes, for 217 calls.
“But I’m very worried about the worsening performance shown by the latest data for Alpine, Campaspe, Gannawarra, Loddon, Macedon Ranges, Mansfield, Mitchell, Moira, Moorabool, Murrindindi, Nillumbik, Strathbogie, Swan Hill and Yarra Ranges shires, Wodonga and Whittlesea city council communities, and other areas,” she said.
“I acknowledge that emergency call-out demand has ballooned as a result of COVID-19.
“It’s up 9.6 per cent for the year across Northern Victoria, and there’s no doubt this has contributed to a 1:33-minute blow-out in average performance times.
“A year ago, it took almost 18 minutes, on average, for an ambulance to arrive at a code one emergency call-out in Northern Victoria.
“Now that average response time has expanded to 19:26 minutes.
“These outcomes prompt me today to ask Ambulance Services Minister Martin Foley MP to update Parliament about the government’s $10 million enterprise resource planning project, due for completion in June, to improve ambulance rostering.
“The Victorian Ambulance Union recently said that a problem with information technology results in ambulance shifts regularly going unfulfilled, yet the government should be leading the way to fix such vital system management issues.
“But the government’s digital strategy and transformation website indicates that the enterprise resource planning project to resolve ambulance rostering problems is under internal review.
“Since last year, an extra 700 paramedics have been appointed and I think that they and their colleagues, who are working so hard, deserve an explanation about why there are rostering gaps, why the IT development repair project has been delayed, and when it will get back on track.
“So does the public.
“We must learn from the COVID-19 pandemic to bolster our health services and ensure that we can meet future challenges.”
