NEW paramedics will be joining the road in Broadford, Kilmore and Romsey starting next week, as part of a boost to increase Victoria’s ambulance services.
Acting Premier Jaclyn Symes and Minister for Ambulance Services Mary-Anne Thomas visited the Ambulance Victoria Capability Hub in Sunshine to meet the latest intake of paramedics before they begin their 12-month placement.
Made up of 57 Graduate Ambulance Paramedics (GAP) and two Ambulance Community Officers who completed their GAP Scholarship, the graduates will be deployed to ambulance branches across Victoria.
The paramedics in Broadford and Kilmore will be part of 17 that will be joining in the Hume region, while one new paramedic will join the Romsey crew as part of five in the Loddon Mallee region.
During this placement, the paramedics will work under the supervision of clinical instructors and alongside paramedics responding to real emergencies and developing their clinical skills.
This latest cohort of graduates builds on a massive year of recruitment, including the largest ever intake of 30 MICA paramedics, who provide advanced lifesaving care.
More than $2 billion has been invested into Victoria’s ambulance services—increasing the on-road workforce by more than 50 per cent, delivering 41 new or upgraded ambulance stations and establishing a new Centre for Paramedicine in partnership with Victoria University.
Paramedics are also now getting the training and skills they need to deliver increasingly specialised levels of care, with Australia’s first Paramedic Practitioners now training and more MICA paramedics being recruited.
Ms Symes said it was crucial to build a better ambulance service for regional Victoria.
“We’re recruiting more paramedics so all Victorians can get the lifesaving care they need, when they need it most,” she said.
Ms Thomas said the training would be invaluable to the latest intake.
“We’re backing our paramedics with more recruits and better training so they can do what they do best—save lives,” she said.
