THE Loddon Mallee region has seen more paramedics on the road as demand increases sharply over the winter months.
Ambulance Victoria has said the fourth quarter of the 2022–23 period was its third-busiest on record, with an increase of 5.5 per cent in ambulance responses compared to the last quarter.
Ambulance Victoria’s Loddon Mallee director of regional and clinical operations Stuart Reid said winter was always a busy time for the region’s paramedics.
“Every winter we see demand rise, and this year is still challenging as COVID-19 and influenza spreads and more staff are furloughed due to illness,” Mr Reid said.
“April to June saw ambulances called to 97,509 Code 1 cases statewide, which is more than 5000 additional ‘lights and sirens’ cases compared to the previous three months.
“This is a huge 29.3 per cent increase from 75,398 Code 1 cases five years ago, before the pandemic hit.
“This winter we again urge you to help our paramedics, first responders and hospitals by saving Triple Zero (000) for emergencies and accessing alternative care options which can better meet your needs.”
The increase in alternative care options plays an important role in Ambulance Victoria lowering its average response time target of 15 minutes, with 61.7 per cent of Code 1 emergencies meeting the target.
Locally, the Swan Hill Local Government Area has seen an improvement in response time, with the average time to respond to Code 1 patients dropping by one minute and 32 seconds, from 17 minutes 21 seconds to 15 minutes 49 seconds.
Ambulance Victoria’s executive director of clinical operations said the evolving nature of healthcare enabled patients to receive appropriate care without the need for lights and sirens.
“While ambulances are always provided to patients when required, from April to June 38,994 people who did not need an emergency ambulance were instead connected by paramedics and nurses in our secondary triage team to more appropriate care,” he said.
“For less urgent cases, we’ve tripled the size of our secondary triage team and have referred more than 40,000 patients to the Victorian Virtual Emergency Department since October 2021 to help avoid unnecessary trips to our hospitals where safe and appropriate.
“That results in 500 or more cases every day being safely matched to services that better suit their needs while also avoiding emergency dispatch.
“Some people hesitate to call Triple Zero (000) because they are not sure if their situation is an emergency.
“If in doubt, always call Triple Zero (000) and the trained call-taker will help and direct you.
“Meanwhile, our Medium Acuity Transport Service crews dedicated for less-urgent calls are freeing up more ambulances to respond to the most critically ill patients.
“Ambulance Victoria has recruited 118 new graduate paramedics in the past month alone, with nine of those being located in the Loddon Mallee area.”
This comes after the service set a record recruitment of more than 1300 paramedics across the state in the past two years.
