Just one year into our promise to employ an extra 450 paramedics over three years, the Andrews Labor Government is getting the job done with 282 more paramedics already recruited.
Minister for Ambulance Services Jill Hennessy today personally welcomed 48 new paramedics from the latest intake of 72, all of whom will hit the road by Christmas.
This latest intake is part of the Labor Government’s $500 million plan to improve 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 this year’s budget, is the largest funding boost ever for Victoria’s ambulance services.
In the past year, the Labor Government has opened six new Super Response Centres in Laverton, Campbellfield, Bayswater, Dandenong South, Preston and Westmeadows to serve growing populations on the urban fringe, and 22 ambulance services have been added at locations across the state to meet local demand.
Twelve new non-emergency patient transport services have started, freeing up paramedics and ambulances to respond to even more emergencies, where and when they are needed most.
The first six of 12 new ambulance services in rural and remote towns with local paramedics and vehicles are due to start early 2018.
Last month, the Labor Government launched Australia’s first stroke ambulance, assessing patients on the spot to speed up treatment and save lives. Several patients have already undergone scans with two receiving clot-busting medication.
The ambulance reforms and funding boost means more ambulances are arriving at emergencies sooner – helping save lives.
Code 1 ambulance response times across Victoria in the first quarter were the best in eight years, with ambulances across the state getting to life threatening emergencies 35 seconds faster compared to last year, with 79.5 per cent of Code One callouts arriving within the target 15 minutes.
This means Code One ambulances are now arriving one minute and 34 seconds faster compared to this quarter three years ago, when response times under the Liberals blew out to the worst September quarter on record.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Ambulance Services Jill Hennessy
“Our hardworking paramedics are our everyday heroes as they go about their jobs saving lives.”
“We invest in our ambulance services because we want to support our paramedics in every way we can just as they support us each and every day on the roads, in our homes and workplaces when we need them.”
“This is reversing the ambulance crisis under the previous Liberal Government, and is helping save lives.”
Reviewed 19 August 2020