Preston paramedics now have the safe and modern home base they need to grow and respond faster to critical medical emergencies so that they can save more lives.
Minister for Ambulance Services Jenny Mikakos today opened the cutting-edge ambulance branch on Gilbert Road, which will help paramedics provide round-the-clock emergency care.
The old Preston ambulance branch was built more than half a century ago. The new branch features spacious garages for vehicles and facilities for paramedics such as lounge areas, a kitchen, training room and better security and storage.
The larger branch also provides room to grow into the future and cater for increasing demand from the growing Preston community and beyond.
The Andrews Labor Government has already fixed the ambulance crisis and delivered 450 paramedics as part of our $500 million ambulance package – the largest ever investment in Victoria’s ambulance system.
Ambulances are arriving at the scene of code one emergencies faster than ever before. The latest quarterly performance data shows paramedics reached 83.9 per cent of Code One patients within 15 minutes – an improvement of 2.5 per cent compared with the same quarter a year prior.
Response times have also improved in the City of Darebin, with 92.3 per cent of ambulances now arriving within 15 minutes for Code 1 emergencies, up from 87.9 per cent a year ago.
The average time for an ambulance to reach the scene of a Code 1 emergency in Darebin over the same period has improved from 10:34 minutes to 9:40 minutes.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Ambulance Services Jenny Mikakos
“In a medical emergency, every second counts. With round-the-clock coverage in Preston, local families can have peace of mind that world-class lifesaving care is just around the corner – all day, every day.”
“Under the Liberals ambulance response times were the worst on the Australian mainland, but we fixed that by investing more than any government in Victoria’s history to improve response times, here in Preston and across Victoria.”
Quote attributable to Member for Preston Robin Scott
“We’ve built a state-of-the-art facility that Preston’s hardworking paramedics are proud to call home. They now have room to grow and do what they do best, which is saving lives.”
Reviewed 19 August 2020