Ambulance Victoria records best-ever response times

October 17, 2019 | in Media Releases, News

Ambulance Victoria has reported its best-ever emergency response times in 2018-2019, despite experiencing its busiest year on record.

In the year to 30 June 2019, a record 732,714 Victorians called Triple Zero for an emergency ambulance, up more than five per cent on the previous year.

Ambulance Victoria’s Emergency Code 1 response times improved by 2.1 percent to 83.9 percent, falling just short of the current target which requires an ambulance to reach 85 percent of Code 1 patients within 15 minutes.

Ambulance Victoria CEO, Associate Professor Tony Walker, said the state’s ambulance service is examining longer-term opportunities to leverage new and emerging technologies to drive a step-change in patient care.

“Every year, the health needs and expectations of our patients grow, and we are constantly striving to find new and innovative ways to improve emergency patient care.

“This year’s improved performance comes off the back of significant government investment and transformational reforms that are central to AV continuing to provide the best emergency healthcare to the Victorian community.

“We need to keep investing in our people, in technology, and in partnerships with the community if we are to meet the challenges of population growth, changing community demographics and more complex patient needs.

“While we know it is important to get to our patients quickly, it is what we do when we arrive and care for them that really makes a difference.”

Other achievements outlined in Ambulance Victoria’s 2018-2019 Annual Report include:

Improved cardiac arrest outcomes, with 33.8 per cent of patients in a shockable rhythm surviving to hospital discharge, up from 32.3 per cent in the previous year
The 5000th stroke patient treated by Victorian Stroke Telemedicine, a service administered by AV that uses telemedicine and a network of regional hospitals to diagnose and treat suspected stroke patients.
More than 114,000 Triple Zero (000) callers seeking an emergency ambulance triaged to a safe and more appropriate service.
More than 97 per cent of patients reporting that they were satisfied or very satisfied with the quality of care they received from paramedics.
Greater gender balance with 47 per cent of our frontline management team now being made up of women
Establishment of our Diversity and Inclusion Council, the membership of which is drawn from the rich diversity of our organisation.
Expansion of a number of our mental health and wellbeing programs to provide more integrated support for our staff and their families
Building of greater community capacity through programs such as GoodSAM, Restart a Heart Day and our first Heart Safe Community in Tatura in regional Victoria