Volunteers making a difference to Ambulance Victoria

This International Volunteer Day, Ambulance Victoria (AV) is taking the opportunity to thank those who volunteer their time to give back to the community as part of our world-leading ambulance service.

There are many roles within AV and in the community that are entirely or partially volunteer-based and make a huge difference to our ability to respond and provide Best Care to our patients.

These roles include AV’s Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT), Ambulance Community Officers (ACO), Auxiliaries and GoodSAM responders.

AV Executive Director Clinical Operations, Anthony Carlyon said community and AV volunteers make an enormous impact on the outcomes of our patients and the work of our paramedics.

“AV is a great place to volunteer and there are many rewarding benefits such as practical life skills and helping others in their time of need,” he said.

“Our First Responders and GoodSAM members work extremely hard to ensure their communities have access to early medical care in the event of an emergency, which ultimately increases a patient’s chance of survival.

“Our auxiliary members have made a positive contribution to Victorian ambulance services for decades and we always welcome the work they do.”

AV has more than 240 CERT volunteers and more than 980 ACOs across the state.

Meanwhile the 40 AV Auxiliaries in Victoria are made up of more than 400 valuable volunteer members, who helped raise more than $145,000 for ambulance branches in the last financial year.

Paramedics are also frequently supported by GoodSAM responders who volunteer their time to respond to patients who require CPR or defibrillation in their area.

Cardiac arrest is often unexpected and for every minute a patient doesn’t receive immediate treatment, their change of survival falls by 10 per cent – that’s why GoodSAM responders improve patient survival rates and outcomes.

To learn more about AV CERT volunteers, visit www.ambulance.vic.gov.au/careers/become-a-first-responder and for more on AV Auxiliaries, visit www.ambulance.vic.gov.au/community/community-partnerships/auxiliaries.

To become a GoodSAM responder, you can sign up at www.ambulance.vic.gov.au/goodsam.