Hannah Hammoud
Both Whittlesea and Hume municipalities have recorded the quickest response time for urgent care in over a year according to the latest Ambulance Victoria (AV) response statistics.
The average response time for patients requiring urgent care in Whittlesea from January to March, 2023 was 15.11 minutes.
Of the 3,164 responses in Whittlesea, 63.7 per cent of them had a response time of less than 15 minutes.
For those in Hume, the average response time for patients requiring urgent care from January to March, 2023 was 15.34 minutes.
Victorian Ambulance Union Secretary Danny Hill said while the statistics show an uptick in response time, there is still a high dependence on ambulance services.
“It’s still incredibly busy,” Mr Hill said.
“The response time in the last report shows an uptick… [but] It’s going to take a long time to [get to pre-COVID times].”
Mr Hill said he would like to see further investment in alternative health pathways for people, as many 000 calls do not require an ambulance.
“We know that so many of the calls that come through don’t really need an ambulance… [people should] save 000 for emergencies,” he said.
“It’s about the strain being placed on the system across the country… It doesn’t just affect paramedics.
“The health system works like an eco system, when one part isn’t healthy it affects the whole system.”
Of the 4,303 responses in Hume, 61.3 per cent of urgent paramedic calls had a response time of less than 15 minutes.
This is an increase of 9.1 per cent of calls receiving an ambulance in 15 minutes or less when compared to October to December last year.
In Metropolitan Melbourne, Hume was named as one of the top 10 local government areas for its improved performance against the 15 minute target.
