The Andrews Labor Government has officially opened Eltham’s new ambulance station.
Minister for Ambulance Services Jill Hennessy today joined Member for Eltham Vicki Ward to unveil the $1.6 million cutting-edge station on Grand Boulevard and Apex Way.
The new station replaces previous station that had housed local ambulance services for nearly 50 years – and will give our paramedics new facilities and room to grow.
It features four ambulance bays, four rest and recline rooms for hard-working paramedics, a large training room and off-street parking for staff.
The new branch will become home to 40 local paramedics who serve the nearby community.
The Labor Government is repairing the ambulance crisis left behind by the Liberals, who went to war with our paramedics and let response times blow out and become the worst on the Australian mainland.
Our $500 million plan is recruiting 450 more paramedics, getting more vehicles on the road and building new stations right around the state.
In the City of Banyule, the latest quarterly performance data shows 90.4 per cent of ambulances are arriving within 15 minutes of Code 1 emergencies – up from 89.2 per cent three months earlier.
The average time an ambulance takes to reach the scene of a Code 1 emergency over the same period has decreased from ten minutes and seven seconds to nine minutes and 58 seconds.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Ambulance Services Jill Hennessy
“For too long, Eltham’s paramedics have had to work out of cramped and antiquated facilities. We’ve fixed that – and given them a home base they can be proud of.”
“We promised we’d build a new ambulance station to give locals the peace of mind that an ambulance is just around the corner when they need one – and we’ve delivered.”
Quote attributable to Member for Eltham Vicki Ward
“The community campaigned long and hard for this new ambulance station and I’m delighted to have stood with them all the way.”
Reviewed 19 August 2020