Ambulance response times under scrutiny in regional Victoria

By Ryan Bellingham

Nov 5, 2024

Ambulance Victoria will soon release its annual report, addressing areas including response time targets. Photo: Megan Fisher Photo by Megan Fisher

An update on below-target emergency response times in the region is expected in the coming weeks, with Ambulance Victoria due to release its annual report.

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Last year’s annual report said 55.3 per cent of code one responses, which are assigned to the most urgent calls, occurred within 15 minutes or less in Campaspe.

That response rate was higher in Echuca at 77.9 per cent, although below Ambulance Victoria’s target of attending 85 per cent of code one dispatches within 15 minutes.

State Member for Murray Plains Peter Walsh said that while Echuca’s response time was close to Ambulance Victoria targets, the discrepancy could be significant.

“It might not seem a huge difference, but minutes, even seconds, count when lives are on the line,” he said.

“In some regional areas, that number plummets into the 50 and 60 per cent deciles.”

Gannawarra saw an average response time of nearly 24 minutes last year, with 37.8 per cent of code one dispatches responded to within 15 minutes.

While response times are important, they are one of a number of measures that determine the effectiveness of ambulance services, according to Ambulance Victoria.

Response times are measured from when an emergency call is received until paramedics arrive on scene, and can be influenced by traffic, distance, demand and availability of services.

Mr Walsh has asked regional Victorians to make submissions to the Parliament of Victoria’s inquiry into Ambulance Victoria, announced in August.

“The inquiry is seeking submissions from the public, with both employees and patients encouraged to contribute,” he said.

“I particularly encourage anyone who has had any experience with Ambulance Victoria to provide their feedback.”

The inquiry will investigate issues in call taking, dispatch, ambulance ramping, working conditions and workloads of paramedics, among other concerns.

The Legal and Social Issues Committee will lead the inquiry, with a report to Parliament due no later than August 31 next year.

Public submissions close on February 28 next year, with public hearings expected soon after.

Ambulance Victoria will table their latest annual report in Parliament in the coming weeks, a government spokesperson said, making latest response times available.