Victoria’s ambulance system failed everywhere – in every street, in every suburb, in every regional community. Last year, ambulances failed to meet Code 1 response targets in every one of Victoria’s 79 local Council areas.
This is the damning conclusion of a secret backlog of ambulance data, stretching back to January 2013. The data, buried by the Liberal Government for two years, was released under the Andrews Labor Government.
The data shows that regional Victoria is ground zero for the ambulance crisis. In Golden Plains Shire, only 12.01 per cent of emergencies were reached on time, with only 14.53 per cent reached on time in nearby Hepburn.
On both sides of the Bay – in Greater Geelong and on the Mornington Peninsula, over a third of emergency patients waited too long for an ambulance. Over three quarters of patients waited too long in Queenscliff.
In the outer-suburban growth areas of Melton and Whittlesea, ambulance performance declined by over 19 per cent. The biggest decline (27 per cent) was recorded in Moorabool Shire.
The data was requested under Freedom of Information in January. After months of roadblocks and resistance from the Board of Ambulance Victoria, the data was released this week under the Labor Government.
Before the 2014 State Election, Premier Andrews promised to end the war on our hardworking paramedics and expose the true state of the ambulance crisis by releasing local response times.
Quotes Attributable to Premier Andrews
“Let there be no doubt why the Liberal Government hid these figures. They expose one of the biggest failures in the history of our health system.”
“Victoria’s ambulance system failed everywhere – in every street, in every suburb, in every regional community.”
“When the Liberal Government buried this data they betrayed every parent and every child in our state.”
Quotes Attributable to Jill Hennessy, Minister for Ambulance Services
“Paramedics were right, our loved ones are at risk, this data is the proof and every Victorian deserves to see it.”
“Each number represents hundreds, sometimes thousands, of parents and children who waited too long in pain and in danger.”
“We’re working with paramedics, not against them, to end the ambulance crisis and improve response times.”
Reviewed 19 August 2020