Ambo pledge

By Kath Gannaway
HEALESVILLE will get a new ambulance station, and 24-hour coverage, if Labor wins the November election.
As a damning Auditor-General’s report into ambulance services was released last week, the Brumby Government announced the new station as part of an $81 million commitment to boost paramedic numbers and improve services.
Member for Seymour, Ben Hardman said the investment would improve local services.
“$2.4million will be provided for a new station and two extra stretcher vehicles and funding will also be provided each year for three extra paramedics to operate the upgraded service,” Mr Hardman said.
The Auditor-General’s report “Access to Ambulance Services” focused on ambulance response times and identified that deteriorating ambulance response times evident prior to amalgamation of the of rural and metropolitan ambulance services into Ambulance Victoria had not been arrested.
“Ambulances are taking longer to respond to Code 1 emergencies, with the worst performance since 2004-05 recorded in 2009-10,” the report states.
It said also that response times in rural regions had worsened more than in the metropolitan areas despite increased funding.
It identified a significant increase in demand for emergency services in the past six years as being a likely major cause for the increase in response times, but said the extra funding and amalgamation of the services which was intended to avoid the problem, had not succeeded.
The report has been a boon for Opposition parties in the lead-up to the election.
Christine Fyffe, MP for Evelyn, said the report revealed that 1906 people, or 31.3 per cent of cases classified as Code 1 (time critical cases) waited longer than 15 minutes for an ambulance.
“I am furious that our health system is constantly being compromised, undermined and degraded by a government that is playing fast and loose with our lives,” Mrs Fyffe said.
Nationals leader Peter Ryan also called for action in rural regions, saying the Auditor-General’s report confirmed that ambulance services were in crisis due to a lack of resources and funding.
Coalition Shadow Minister for Health David Davis also hit out at the government, saying last-minute (funding) promises weren’t to be believed.
The Auditor-General called for greater transparency in reporting response times and, in situations which may relate to Yarra Ranges, it stated that response time performances declined as population density reduced and travel distances for paramedics increased.
The report called for disclosure of area-specific targets that took into account the geography and branch staffing to ensure the public was better informed about the level of service it could realistically expect.
“The present reporting of state-wide measures omits the level of detail necessary to give this understanding,” the report said.