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Doors Open On New Pakenham Ambulance Station

17 August 2017

Local paramedics now have the facilities they need to quickly respond to local medical emergencies with the opening of a state-of-the-art ambulance station in Pakenham.

Minister for Ambulance Services Jill Hennessy today officially opened the new $1.1 million Pakenham Ambulance Branch on Main Street, funded by the Andrews Labor Government.

The previous branch was more than 40 years old. The new purpose-built station gives hard working paramedics the larger and modern facilities they deserve, and room to grow into the future.

The new branch will be home to 34 paramedics from two 24-hour paramedic teams, and features a training room, larger garage and better amenities and rest areas.

The Labor Government will deliver $8.5 million from the Growth Areas Infrastructure Contributions fund to buy land for six new ambulance stations in some of Melbourne’s fastest-growing outer suburbs. This includes funding to purchase a site for a second ambulance branch in the Pakenham area.

The Labor Government is rebuilding Victoria’s ambulance system after four years of crisis and neglect under the former Liberal Government. It’s $500 million plan will improve ambulance response times, employ 450 more paramedics, buy new vehicles and build more stations across the state.

This investment, along with a further $26.5 million in the Victorian Budget 2017/18, is the largest funding boost ever delivered for Victoria’s ambulance services.

After 18 months of investing in and reforming the ambulance system, more and more ambulances are arriving at emergencies sooner. Code 1 ambulance response times across Victoria hit 81 per cent in the last quarter – an improvement of six per cent on the same period last year and the best June quarter result on record.

In the Cardinia Shire, ambulance response times are improving, with 67.9 per cent of ambulances now arriving within 15 minutes for Code One emergencies, up from 61.4 per cent compared to the same time last year.

That means the average response time for an ambulance to reach the scene of a Code One emergency in the Cardinia Shire has improved from 14:43 minutes to 13:47 minutes.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Ambulance Services Jill Hennessy

“In a medical emergency, every second counts. Pakenham families can have peace of mind that paramedics are now responding even faster.”

“We’re investing more to improve ambulance response times than any Government in Victoria’s history, to give people the best care when they need it most.”

Quote attributable to Member for Eastern Victoria Daniel Mulino

“This new state-of-the-art branch in Pakenham will support our dedicated paramedics to do what they do best, which is saving lives.”

Reviewed 19 August 2020

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