Ambulance response data shows improvements

RECENT data is showing Ambulance Victoria (AV) paramedics are reaching patients nearly two minutes faster than a year ago despite another record breaking quarter for emergency ambulance demand. Executive Director Clinical Operations Anthony Carlyon said, “While there is more work ahead of us, it is encouraging our response to Code One emergencies improved a full minute and 46 seconds compared to a year ago. “The Productivity Commission’s recent report on government services shows Victoria has Australia’s most trusted paramedics and leads the nation in cardiac arrest survival and pain management.

“Our dedicated paramedics and first responders are to be commended for the outstanding care they deliver to communities across the state.”

The last quarter of 2023 was the busiest in AV’s history with 154,267 emergency cases. This includes 99,833 Code One cases, the second most on record, and 54,434 Code Two cases.

Between October and December 2023, paramedics across Victoria responded to 67.3 per cent of Code One cases within the state wide target of 15 minutes, up from 66 per cent for the previous three months and 7.1 percentage points better than 60.2 per cent a year ago.

As a result, the state wide average response time to Code One emergencies dropped from 16 minutes and 44 seconds to 14 minutes and 58 seconds.

In the last three months of 2023, paramedics responded to 3239 more Code One cases than the previous quarter and only 405 fewer than a year ago when Code One demand exceeded 100,000 cases for the first time.

Performance against the 15-minute target for Code One cases improved in 74 of Victoria’s 79 Local Government Areas (LGAs) compared to a year ago, with the biggest improvements in Melbourne’s growing outer suburbs.

In the Murrindindi Shire, data showed for Code One cases, 33.7 per cent reached the target of under 15 minute response time compared to the previous quarter being 32.2 per cent.

The average response time for code one cases in Murrindindi Shire was 24.22 minutes, a little bit slower than the previous quarter being 23.41.

The total number of first responses has increased in the shire. This quarter was 261, and last quarter was 229 which is 32 more responses for our ambulance personnel to attend to.

Code Two cases for Murrindindi Shire have improved with this quarter, being 48.20 minutes and last quarter being 49.17 minutes.

The total numbers of responders have increased for Code Two cases as the total number was 199 and last quarter was 176.

Mr Carlyon said improved performance followed increased use of alternative and virtual care services for people in the community who did not require an ambulance.

“From October to December 2023, 38,695 people who did not need an emergency ambulance were instead.. Read the full story by subscribing to our newspaper here.

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Image: Ambulance, photo by Liam Davies