Ambulance response times rose slightly in Greater Shepparton from July to September 2022, but the number of Code 1 incidents paramedics were called to increased by nearly 30 per cent compared to the same period in 2021.
The average response time to a Code 1 incident in the first quarter of the 2022/23 financial year in the Greater Shepparton LGA was 15 minutes and 55 seconds, with two thirds of all Code 1 patients attended to within 15 minutes.
Paramedics attended 66.5 per cent of Code 1 calls in the LGA within 15 minutes, compared to 66.8 per cent from April to July.
Within Shepparton and Mooroopna, 75.1 per cent of Code 1 patients were reached within 15 minutes, compared to 75.8 per cent last quarter.
The slight rise in response times came alongside a 28.4 per cent rise in the number of Code 1 caseloads, while demand for ambulances state-wide remained at record levels.
Ambulance Victoria Hume regional director Narelle Capp said the past three months made up paramedics’ second-busiest quarter on record.
“Together with the previous quarter, this was by far the busiest and most challenging winter ever,” Ms Capp said.
“Our paramedics and first responders worked tirelessly to keep delivering world-class care.”
During the quarter, an average of 132 staff were furloughed in Victoria every day due to COVID-19, with a peak of 305 staff furloughed on July 23, and dropping to 31 staff by the end of September.
Ms Capp said Medium Acuity Transport Service crews had been on the road for a year. These were made up of health workers dedicated to non-urgent calls, which “free up more ambulances for the most critical emergencies”.
Those MATS crews had attended 855 cases across Greater Shepparton since their inception on November 15, 2021, and more than 28,000 cases across Victoria.
“That is a lot of time saved for other paramedic crews to respond to the most critically ill patients, so it’s good to see these dedicated crews making a real difference,” Ms Capp said.
Ms Capp said Ambulance Victoria recruited 700 paramedics in 2021 — its largest annual recruitment ever.
Ambulance Victoria executive director clinical operations Anthony Carlyon said from July to September, nearly 40,000 callers to 000 didn’t need an emergency ambulance.
“That results in 500 or more cases every day being safely matched to services that better suit their needs while also avoiding emergency dispatch,” he said.
“While ambulances are always provided to patients when required, about one in five calls to 000 do not need an emergency ambulance response.”