Paramedics are urging Victorians to access alternative care options and get their flu and COVID-19 vaccinations before winter, as new data shows demand for emergency ambulances remains high.
Ambulance Victoria (AV) metropolitan regional director Michael Georgiou said paramedics across Victoria were reaching the sickest patients on average 31 seconds faster than a year earlier despite demand increasing 4.4 per cent.
“Our hardworking paramedics and first responders in the metropolitan region deliver world-class care every day in the face of ongoing high demand,” Mr Georgiou said.
“Winter is a particularly bad time for the spread of illness. The good news is getting your flu shot and staying up to date with your COVID-19 vaccinations will help you and the people around you stay well.”
The average response time for patients requiring urgent care or code one cases in Sunbury from January 1 to March 31, was 15.45 minutes. This is a six-second improvement on the previous quarter.
Of the 607 responses, 58.6 per cent of them had a response time of less than 15 minutes, which is the benchmark. That’s down from 61.8 per cent in the October 1 to December 31 quarter.
Macedon Ranges recorded a 15.43 minute response time from January 1 to March 31, which is a decrease from 16.30 minutes in the previous quarter.
Of the 689 responses, 58.3 per cent of them had a response time of less than 15 minutes.
Acting executive director clinical operations Andrew Keenan said while ambulances are always provided to patients when required, about one in five calls to triple-0 do not need an emergency ambulance response.
“From January to March, 39,227 people who did not need an emergency ambulance were instead connected to more appropriate care by paramedics and nurses in AV’s secondary triage team,” Mr Keenan said.
“Over the past 12 months, paramedics have referred more than 28,850 patients to the Victorian Virtual Emergency Department (VVED).
“A further 7000 patients have been referred to the VVED following assessment by our secondary triage team, [which is] up 135 per cent from a year ago.
“We again remind everyone to save triple-0 for emergencies- this is to ensure the sickest Victorians receive life-saving care.”
