Winter demand contributed to a rise code one ambulance callouts , including in Hume and the Macedon Ranges, new Ambulance Victoria data reveals.
Hume recorded the second highest number of code one ambulance callouts in the state in the three months to 30 September.
Paramedics responded to 4750 code one call outs in Hume – those requiring urgent paramedic and hospital care deploying lights and sirens– in Hume between July and September.
Only Casey (5441) recorded more code one calls during that period.
The number of code one calls responded to in Hume rose from 4706 between April and June, and coincided with a 28-second increase in response times.
Ambulance Victoria data shows the average code one response time in Hume was 16:32 minutes between July and September, up from 16:04.
Paramedics responded to 57.3 per cent of code one calls within the state government-set benchmark of 15 minutes or less, down from 59.2 per cent during the previous three months.
In Sunbury alone, there were 592 code one ambulance callouts, with an average response time being 17:57.
In the Macedon Ranges, paramedics responded to 807 code one call outs in the same period.
Response times were kept at an average of 17 minutes, with 53.9 per cent of callouts reaching the targeted response time of under 15 minutes.
This was higher than the previous quarter, which saw 777 code one call outs with a 16:44 response time, however the percentage of callouts reaching the targeted response time remained the same over both quarters.
Ambulance Victoria executive director regional operations Michael Georgious said the demand for ‘lights and sirens’ ambulances increased by 2.8 per cent this quarter across the state.
“Winter consistently brings the highest emergency call volumes, and this year was no exception. This was our busiest first quarter on record with 101,632 Code 1 emergencies in just three months, and overall, it was our second busiest quarter ever,” he said.
This was another challenging winter – the entire health system was extremely busy with seasonal illness. We are incredibly proud of our highly skilled paramedics and first responders for the exceptional care they provide their communities – all day, every day.”
