 | Media contact: Tim Pigot 0419 817 098 or Cameron Scott 0439 333 167 www.vic.gov.au
Tuesday, 22 April, 2008
$185.7 MILLION BOOST TO VICTORIAN AMBULANCE SERVICES
Two new medical helicopters, 59 new and upgraded services and the prospect of a single statewide ambulance service headline a $185.7 million Budget boost representing the single biggest investment into Victoria’s ambulance services, Premier John Brumby announced today.
One of the new choppers – to transport ill and injured babies, children and adults as part of the statewide retrieval system – will be based at Essendon airport, while the other will be based at Warrnambool to provide additional coverage to south-west Victoria.
In addition to a new and improved air ambulance fleet, Mr Brumby released a consultation paper proposing that Victoria’s ambulance services would become one organisation – Ambulance Victoria – to operate a strengthened new statewide service.
“This is the biggest single investment into the state’s ambulance services in Victoria’s history, and the results will be far reaching, with new and extra services throughout the state,” Mr Brumby said.
“By listening to community and paramedic concerns around the state, we are proposing to reshape Victoria’s ambulance service and deliver two air ambulance helicopters to provide the best emergency medical coverage both in the air and on the ground.”
Mr Brumby said transferring responsibility for the adult retrieval services to the Metropolitan Ambulance Service last November will further support improvements in retrieval services which is expected to lead to an increase in of air ambulance resources to transport patients.
“The first priority of the ambulance service was for the extra helicopter based at Essendon, which the Government has funded and MAS then advised that the next priority was an additional helicopter in rural/regional Victoria, and, the best location for this would be in the south-west of the state,” he said.
“By moving the statewide retrieval service to MAS and adding a dedicated retrieval chopper at Essendon, we have been able to give the air ambulance system the flexibility to make an enhanced air ambulance service to the south-west a workable option.”
Mr Brumby said the Victorian Government was always prepared to listen to community concerns, and always had an open mind on the issue.
“The Warrnambool air ambulance will also have capacity for search and rescue operations,” he said.
“This record investment will deliver comprehensive healthcare benefits to all Victorians and is further evidence that that the Brumby Government is taking action to deliver quality health services for Victorian families.”
Mr Brumby said new or expanded ambulance services will also be rolled across 48 towns and suburbs across Victoria.
Thirteen new ‘peak period units’ will commence in Abbotsford, Coburg, Ivanhoe, Frankston, Berwick, Hallam, Patterson Lakes, Prahran, Pakenham, Bacchus Marsh, South Morang, Yarraville and Yarra Junction to boost ambulance services at busy times of the day.
Around the state, nine ambulance stations will be refurbished or rebuilt – at Pakenham, Hastings, Sunbury, Ballarat, Neerim South, Avoca, Timboon, Anglesea, Hamilton, and service upgrades at, Colac, Anglesea, Timboon, Alexandra, Apollo Bay, Mirboo North, Beaconsfield and Greensborough.
New paramedic teams will be based at Broadmeadows, Croydon, Laverton, Fawkner, Frankston, Hillside, Dandenong and Box Hill.
Extra crews will be added to stations on major country transport corridors – at Woodend, Kyneton, Kilmore and Gisborne, and new MICA single responder units will be established at Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat and the Latrobe Valley.
Health Minister Daniel Andrews said the expansion in ambulance services in towns and suburbs was ensuring services were based in areas where demand was increasing.
Mr Andrews said the upcoming State Budget funding would also enable Mobile Intensive Care Ambulance services to be reorganised and streamlined at a number of metropolitan stations, with of the rollout of more single MICA paramedic responders to provide more flexibility to the paramedic workforce and a quicker responses to Victorians.
This will see new MICA single responder units introduced at Hillside, Nunawading, Chelsea, Coburg, Prahran, Ivanhoe, Box Hill, Frankston, Dandenong, Ringwood, Laverton, and Bundoora.
New 24-hour MICA units will also commence in Werribee, Eltham Northa and Boronia, with MICA peak period units introduced Footscray, Clayton, Malvern and Richmond.
Mr Andrews said the Budget would include $5.5 million to continue running the fixed wing service of Air Ambulance Victoria.
An $8.3 million component of the Budget would help employ 20 dedicated off roster rural/regional paramedics across the state, over and above a recent regional campaign to recruit an additional 100 paramedics into country Victoria to release rural station officers from their operational roster to dedicate more time to manage staff.
“Before this Budget our investment in ambulance services across the state had increased by $112 million since 1999,” Mr Andrews said.
“This previous investment has seen 25 new ambulance branches started across the state, including nine in country Victoria. We have also upgraded 48 stations, including 35 in rural areas and the Brumby Government will continue to build on this.”
The consultation paper is available on the Department of Human Services website, http:// www.health.vic.gov.au/ambulance. Responses close on 20 May 2008Media Release Attachment - BudgetAmbulance.doc [Word, 57856 Bytes]
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