Emergency crisis in paramedic working conditions

As Ambulance Victoria (AV) and the State Government continue to negotiate a new Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA) for paramedics, Member for Euroa Annabelle Cleeland has embarked on a campaign to address the state’s growing healthcare concerns.

Speaking first to paramedics several weeks ago, Ms Cleeland was shocked to hear the realities faced by many workers.

“I heard that many of our dedicated paramedics were working 16-hour shifts, rosters were understaffed, culture issues prevented them from speaking out against these difficult conditions, and that patient transport had taken over from emergency response as a major part of their role,” she said.

“Ramping issues at our regional hospitals have been widely publicised too, with entire fleets of ambulances stuck in hospital car parks for hours as our emergency rooms struggle to handle increased demand.

“Paramedics do an incredible job ensuring our loved ones are safe, but they have understandably reached their breaking point due to a lack of support from this government.”

Their stories are accompanied by concerning new data that shows that AV’s target of responding to 85 per cent of Code 1 emergencies within 15 minutes has fallen short in local and surrounding shires.

In the Mitchell Shire, an average of 55.5 per cent of Code 1 emergencies were attended to within the targeted timeframe, while in Strathbogie that figure sits at 32.7 per cent.

However, AV Hume Regional Director Steve Doyle emphasised that response times were improving, with the Kilmore unit boasting the largest improvement this year, attending to 67.9 per cent of Code 1 patients within 15 minutes—up 13.1 per cent from 2023.

“Our dedicated paramedics and first responders in Hume do an incredible job in the face of record-breaking demand, providing best care to our communities every day,” he said.

Despite the improvement, Ms Cleeland continued to urge the government to take action.

“We need to ensure our paramedics are given the support they need to keep our community safe in times of crisis,” she said.

“People’s lives are at risk, particularly in regional communities that have seen resources slashed for local ambulance services.”

Ms Cleeland raised her concerns in parliament last month, calling for specialised Mobile Intensive Care Ambulance (MICA) units across the southern Hume region.

The highly trained units are able to perform more advanced medical procedures, however, there are currently none in operation in much of the region.

“The Mitchell Shire, one of the fastest growing parts of our state, does not have a MICA unit to cover a population of more than 50,000 people,” Ms Cleeland said.

“A recent incident at a Coles supermarket carpark in Seymour required a MICA air-unit from Essendon because there were no local options available, leaving the patient at risk for an extended period of time.

“Similarly, local paramedics told me that a clinical manager was called back for a paediatric resuscitation because she was the only one qualified in the entire Mitchell LGA for specialist cases.

“On their own, this specialist paramedic is already covering an area from Wallan to Seymour, then out to Alexandra.

“This is completely unacceptable. People suffering from serious medical incidents should not be put at greater risk because the minister has failed to allocate enough resources to our communities.”

In response, a Victorian Government spokesperson said they would not take lectures from the opposition.

“We won’t take lectures from the Liberal Party who went to war with our paramedics and closed regional hospitals,” they said.

“Since coming to government, we have more than doubled our paramedic workforce , giving Victoria more paramedics per 100,000 people than any other jurisdiction.

“We will always support our paramedics, because that’s what Labor does.”