Ambulance response times improve in Surf Coast

RECENT data released from Victorian Agency for Health Information suggests ambulance services in the Surf Coast are becoming more efficient.

The data reveals for the first three month of this year, 64.3 per cent of Code 1 cases in the Surf Coast were reached within the 15-minute Ambulance Victoria benchmark. This is up from 60.1 per cent in 2019.

Code 1 cases are those where lights and sirens are used, but the incident is not life-threatening.

The average response time to Code 1 cases in the shire in these three months has also dropped, but is still more than the benchmark, at 15 minute and 13 seconds.

Labor South Barwon MP Darren Cheeseman said he is pleased with the improvements, particularly considering the challenges the health sector has recently faced.

“There is no doubt it’s been a challenging start to the year for our hospitals and ambulance service – with high demand continuing and coronavirus preparations placing additional pressures on the entire health system.

“Our paramedics are our heroes and they’ve done an incredible job giving the Surf Coast community the very best treatment throughout this busy time.”

The Surf Coast is still well below the state wide percentage for Code 1 cases met in 15 minutes, which for the first three months of the year was 81.3 per cent.

The data for the following quarter is expected to give a more comprehensive picture of the coronavirus’s effect on the health services.