Greater Geelong was the busiest in the state for paramedics attending Code 1 cases from April to June, according to Ambulance Victoria (AV) response times.
The latest AV quarterly data found that Greater Geelong paramedics had attended 5.05 per cent of the state’s total Code 1 workload, with 4991 cases attended between April and June.
Lara had the biggest attendance improvement across the state with paramedics attending 70.9 per cent of Code 1 patients within 15 minutes, up from 64.7 per cent a year ago.
Barwon South West crews responded to 7323 Code 1 cases between April and June this year, an increase of 138 cases from 7185 three months ago, but down by 236 cases from 7559 last year.
AV Barwon South West regional director Stuart Reid said there had already been a “3.7 per cent jump in Code 1 demand” since the first three months of this year.
“Winter is always our busiest time, and our paramedics are focused on reaching the sickest patients first but every day, more than 500 calls to Triple Zero (000) don’t need an emergency ambulance,” he said.
“Our expert Secondary Triage team, made up of nurses and paramedics, plays a vital role by connecting people with the right care and freeing up ambulances for life-threatening emergencies.
“Between April and June alone, the team redirected 46,015 non-urgent cases away from an emergency response and, since June, 117 new graduate paramedics have joined the frontline across Victoria.”
AV Regional Operations acting executive director Michael Georgiou said paramedics across the state responded to 65.3 per cent of Code 1 cases within 15 minutes, an improvement from last year’s 64.2 per cent rate.
“April to June last year was AV’s busiest three months on record, with 102,419 Code 1 emergencies, and across the same period this year, we’ve responded to 98,874 Code 1 cases,” he said.
“We’re grateful to Victorians who are choosing to use alternative care for non-urgent issues as it means ambulances are available faster for emergencies, so that community effort is helping us save lives.”
