THOUSANDS of Victorians are waiting longer for ambulances while qualified graduate paramedics are struggling to find work, prompting calls for the State Government to recruit more frontline staff.
Member for Euroa Annabelle Cleeland said it was unacceptable that while regional communities continue to experience ambulance shortages and delayed response times, many newly qualified paramedics are being forced interstate or out of the profession altogether.
“Victoria is facing ongoing pressure across our ambulance system, yet we are not employing enough of the very people who have trained to answer the call,” Ms Cleeland said.
Ambulance Victoria’s own annual reports show graduate recruitment has fallen significantly from record levels in recent years. In 2021-22, Ambulance Victoria recruited 647 graduate paramedics as part of a record intake of 716 new paramedics. By 2023-24, that figure had fallen to just 134 graduate paramedics.
Ms Cleeland said the situation made little sense when communities across regional Victoria continue to report concerns about ambulance availability and workforce shortages.
“Regional communities deserve confidence that when they call Triple Zero, an ambulance will be available. That starts with ensuring we are training, recruiting and retaining enough paramedics.”
State minister for ambulance services, Harriet Shing, said the paramedics in Victoria are world-class and it’s only the current government who has their backs.
“We’re investing in solutions that get ambos back on the road faster, including secondary triage, and improved call and dispatch. At the same time we’re taking pressure off our EDs by connecting Victorians with the right care through the expansion of our Virtual Emergency Department, and the delivery of Urgent Care Clinics and our Nurse on Call service.”
She believes at election time, if the Liberal party gets voted in they’ll be given the chancy to go to war with Victoria’s paramedics.
There was $50.7 million in this years budget to help get paramedics back on the road sooner including improve how Triple Zero Victoria calls are triaged, reviewed and classified.