Zoe Moffatt
Sunbury has recorded the quickest response time for urgent care in over a year according to the latest Ambulance Victoria (AV) response statistics.
The average response time for patients requiring urgent care in Sunbury from January to March, 2023 was 15.44 minutes.
Of the 578 responses, 59 per cent of them had a response time of less than 15 minutes.
The last time Sunbury recorded a quicker response time was in April and June 2021 with a time of 14.52 minutes.
Victorian Ambulance Union Secretary Danny Hill said while the statistics show an uptick in response time, there is still a high dependence on ambulance services.
“It’s still incredibly busy,” Mr Hill said.
“The response time in the last report shows an uptick… [but] It’s going to take a long time to [get to pre-COVID times].”
Mr Hill said he would like to see further investment in alternative health pathways for people, as many 000 calls do not require an ambulance.
“We know that so many of the calls that come through don’t really need an ambulance… [people should] save 000 for emergencies,” he said.
“It’s about the strain being placed on the system across the country… It doesn’t just affect paramedics.
“The health system works like an eco system, when one part isn’t healthy it affects the whole system.”
In the same time period, 61.3 per cent of urgent paramedic calls in Hume received an ambulance in 15 minutes or less.
This is an increase of 9.1 per cent of calls receiving an ambulance in 15 minutes or less when compared to October to December last year.
The average response time for these calls was 15.34 minutes, with a total of 4303 first responses during the three months of 2023.
In Metropolitan Melbourne, Hume was named as one of the top 10 local government areas for its improved performance against the 15 minute target.
For Macedon Ranges, 56.2 per cent of urgent paramedic calls received an ambulance in 15 minutes or less, an increase of 5.5 per cent compared to October and December last year.
The average response time for these calls were 16.21 minutes, with a total of 650 first responses during the three months of 2023.
