General News
13 February, 2023
Ambulance demand soars in the shire
A 30 percent rise in demand for ambulances in the Central Goldfields Shire — and record-topping demand state-wide — throughout October to December has prompted Ambulance Victoria (AV) to urge patients to save Triple Zero for emergencies. During...
A 30 percent rise in demand for ambulances in the Central Goldfields Shire — and record-topping demand state-wide — throughout October to December has prompted Ambulance Victoria (AV) to urge patients to save Triple Zero for emergencies.
During the three months, the Central Goldfields Shire experienced a 30.3 percent increase in Code 1 caseload from the same time in 2021, while across Victoria paramedics responded to more than 100,000 seriously ill patients — the highest on record.
AV has a state-wide target to respond to 85 percent of Code 1 incidents (emergencies requiring a lights and sirens response) within 15 minutes.
According to the latest performance data, in Maryborough during October to December paramedics responded to 201 Code 1 incidents.
Of those, 64.2 percent were responded to within the target time, with an average response time of 16 minutes and 42 seconds.
In the wider Central Goldfields Shire, there were 301 Code 1 call outs (up from 231 incidents during the same time in 2021), 49.8 percent of which were responded to within 15 minutes.
The average response time was 19 minutes and 37 seconds.
Ambulance Victoria Loddon Mallee regional director Trevor Weston said ambulance responses for the second quarter of 2022/23 (October-December) were impacted by continuing growth in demand, sicker patients, and staff furloughing due to COVID-19.
“Across the state, October to December was the busiest quarter in Ambulance Victoria’s history with paramedics called to a record 100,234 Code 1 ‘lights and sirens’ cases,” he said.
“In the face of this record demand and the impacts of COVID-19 on our lives, our dedicated paramedics in the Loddon Mallee region have continued to do an amazing job delivering world-class care to our patients.”
Mr Weston said paramedics were seeing a record proportion of sicker patients who needed the Code 1 response.
“A year ago, life-threatening Code 1 cases made up 42 percent of the total Triple Zero demand — which has now risen to 46 percent in this quarter,” he said.
“And on December 27, paramedics responded to 1304 Code 1 cases — the first time we have broken 1300 Code 1 cases in one day.
“That is why I encourage all Victorians to take care of themselves and keep regular check-ups with your GP or specialist before your condition worsens and you need to call for our lifesaving care.”
According to AV, from October to December, 41,440 callers to Triple Zero did not need an emergency ambulance and were instead connected by paramedics and nurses in AV’s Secondary Triage team to more appropriate care.
“That results in 500 or more cases every day being safely matched to services that better suit their needs while also avoiding emergency dispatch. While ambulances are always provided to patients when required, about one in five calls to Triple Zero (000) do not need an emergency ambulance response,” AV executive director clinical operations Anthony Carlyon said.
AV performance data from October to December also showed there were 189 Code 2 incidents (acute but not time critical) in Maryborough, with an average response time of 47 minutes and six seconds.
There were 225 Code 2 incidents across the shire with an almost identical wait time.