Liam McNally
Ambulance wait times have come down in recent months for Melton and Moorabool residents, however they are still trailing behind state averages, according to the latest data from Ambulance Victoria.
Ambulance Victoria aims to respond to 85 per cent of code 1 incidents within 15 minutes.
Between July and September this year, 50.7 per cent of the 566 code 1 incidents in Moorabool were responded to within 15 minutes, and the average wait time was 18.13 minutes.
This is an improvement on the previous quarter in which 45.1 per cent of incidents were responded to within 15 minutes, but the average wait time had increased from 17.41.
In Melton, there were 3005 incidents between July and September, making it the seventh busiest in Victoria. Of those incidents, 57.2 per cent of incidents were responded to within 15 minutes and the average wait was 16.40.
This year a new ambulance branch built in Melton West.
Ambulance Victoria metropolitan regional and clinical operations director Narelle Capp said despite high demand, it’s positive that ambulances arrived at ‘lights and sirens’ cases faster than the previous quarter.
“We are proud of our hardworking paramedics and it’s great to see performance improving in Melton and Moorabool following unprecedented pressures on the health system due to COVID-19,” she said.
“It is also great to see people in Melton and Moorabool embracing the Victorian Virtual Emergency Department (VVED) for non-urgent cases to avoid unnecessary trips to our emergency departments.”
State wide, the percentage of code 1’s responded to within 15 minutes went from 61.7 per cent to 66 per cent.
Ambulance Victoria said performance improved thanks to more paramedics and people in the community accessing alternative and ‘virtual’ care services.
Response times are influenced by many factors including traffic, road and weather conditions, distance required to travel, availability of ambulances and demand for our services.
