DESPITE more paramedics on the road, and better response times in Wonthaggi, Warragul and Moe/Newborough areas, wait times for Wellington Shire are still high.
Member for Gippsland South, Danny O’Brien said he raised his concerns over ambulance wait times in Parliament many times last year and is disappointed to see the life-threatening issue remains ongoing.
“The fourth quarter performance report from Ambulance Victoria shows that Wellington Shire residents are waiting over 20 minutes on average for an ambulance to respond to a code 1 call-out with only 50.4 per cent of ambulances arriving within the targeted 15-minute timeframe,” Mr O’Brien said.
“In the South Gippsland Shire that percentage is even lower at 45.4 per cent.”
A code 1 incident is a patient who requires urgent paramedic and hospital care and has a targeted response time of less than 15 minutes.
Mr O’Brien said this is not an issue that can be allowed to go unchecked.
“I am extremely grateful for the work of our local paramedics and hospital staff who are doing their best to deliver under enormous pressure and it is disappointing to see them continually let down by a government that fails to improve the system.
“The people of Gippsland South deserve to have access to an ambulance when they need one.
“I am calling on the Andrews Labor government to take immediate action to ensure our local ambulance services are able to meet their performance targets and keep our community safe.”
Ambulance Services Minister Gabrielle Williams said she was “optimistic” response times would eventually return to pre-pandemic levels.
Victorian Ambulance Union secretary Danny Hill told AAP: “Ambulance Victoria and (the Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority) are coding so many cases as code 1, when they don’t need to be.”
He said that as a result of this, paramedics dealt with many cases with lights and sirens that weren’t emergencies.
