A new ambulance station will be built at Craigieburn as part of a state government move to reduce emergency response times.
The state-of-the-art station will be in addition to the suburb’s existing ambulance station on Lygon Drive. A location for the new station is yet to be decided.
Craigieburn will also receive a 24-hour ambulance team, with 14 full-time equivalent paramedics, and a new ambulance.
The new station is part of the government’s $500 million investment in ambulance services across the state, supporting paramedics to respond more quickly to emergencies.
In the three months to September, the average code one ambulance response time in Hume was 14 minutes, down from 14.50 minutes in September last year.
Ambulance Victoria aims to arrive at code one emergencies within 15 minutes.
However, Ambulance Victoria data reveals that paramedics responded to just 67.9 per cent of code one emergencies in Hume within the target 15 minutes.
Response times in Hume also remain higher than in the neighbouring municipalities of Whittlesea (13.42 minutes) and Moreland (11.49 minutes).
Ambulance Services Minister Jill Hennessy said while Victoria’s ambulance response times are the best they have been in five years, there is still more work to be done.
“In a medical emergency, every second saves lives. That’s why we’re ensuring people in Craigieburn get the right emergency care, quickly, when they need it,” she said.
The new station will feature a drive-in, drive-out garage bay for vehicles, rest areas, training rooms, bedrooms, modern amenities and a fully-fitted kitchen.
Yuroke MP Ros Spence said the new station would help paramedics save more lives.
“The new Craigieburn ambulance station will make a huge difference to their community’s hardworking and dedicated paramedics, and makes room for more paramedics on the road,” she said. “We’re … giving paramedics in Hume the support they deserve and need, to do what they do best, which is saving lives.”
Ms Spence said Craigieburn residents would also benefit from the government’s plan to build a “super response centre” in the north.
The centre will be one of six built across Melbourne to enable flexibility in the rapid deployment of paramedics during peak periods. It is not yet known where Craigieburn’s ‘super response centre’ will be built.
The government is also working on improving the capacity of Northern Hospital staff to help to treat more emergency department patients.
This would also free up ambulances to get back on the road more quickly.
