United Voice

Dangerously slow response times, paramedic overwork and inadequate ambulance coverage in Victoria feature in the log of 291 incidents between August and November this year. Actual figures are likely to be many times higher, as the log is only a sample of incidents.

An unconscious 70-year-old who waited 57 minutes for an ambulance was just one of 20 critical code one patients who waited over 25 minutes for an ambulance.

In another case, an 89-year-old woman with severe chest pains was taken to hospital by car after waiting 23 minutes for an ambulance to arrive. Over 100 incidences of patients waiting dangerously long periods for an ambulance and failures to provide adequate care are listed in the log.

The log details 175 cases of reduced ambulance services, with 96 scheduled shifts not running during that period.

September 5 was typical of how dangerously low coverage can get. Four of Melbourne’s 16 intensive care paramedic units did not run, while six regular ambulance services were dropped over the city. That evening, ten cars that normally run in the city were also dropped. A week earlier six of Melbourne’s ambulances were cancelled. 

Overwork and fatigue is also a serious issue in the service. One regional paramedic worked a 22-hour shift in September to cover a colleague off sick. Official Ambulance Victoria reports show rural paramedics average 55 days overtime a year, while Melbourne paramedics do about six weeks a year.

Ambulance Employees Association State Secretary Steve McGhie says he sent a copy of the log to Health Minister Daniel Andrews four weeks ago, but has not received a response to the information.

“These figures show the ambulance service is failing the community. People’s lives are being put at risk by slow response times and cancelled ambulances.”

“Paramedics are working massive hours to cover our over-stretched service, and when everyone else is with their friends and family at Christmas, this is their busiest time of the year.

“The community needs to be extremely cautious over the holiday season, because this log shows the ambulance you need in a crisis simply may not be there.”

“We’re calling on Mr Andrews and Mr Brumby to stop neglecting the community and fix this crisis. We need more ambos and better resources now. We need to recognise and reward the skills and experience of the paramedics we already have, and attract new people to the profession. The only way we are going to do that is to give paramedics fair wages and decent 10-hour rest breaks.”