By Meg Kennedy<\/p>\n
A bigger and better ambulance hub that will allow Bacchus March paramedics the space they need to respond to emergencies has officially begun construction.
\nMinister for Ambulance Services Jenny Mikakos joined Member for Melton Steve McGhie last Thursday, 14 February to turn the first sod of the new $3 million Bacchus Marsh ambulance branch, on the corner of Gisborne Road and Leila Court.
\nThe current branch, located on Main St, was built in the 1960s and is too narrow for redevelopment.
\nA new hub for Bacchus Marsh was announced in July 2016 as part of the 2016\/17 Victorian Budget.
\nThe new site – a former residential block – will feature a five-bay garage, four rest and recline rooms, training facilities, a fully equipped kitchen and improved security and staff car parking.
\nIt will be home to more than 40 paramedics providing 24-hour coverage, with plans for the ambulance service to grow in the future.
\n\u201cWe know how important it is for our vulnerable members of the community who are waiting for someone in that moment of need to come to that rescue, effectively to their aid,\u201d Minister Mikakos told paramedics at the site.
\nThe State Government reported that an average time for an ambulance to reach the scene of a Code One emergency in Moorabool has improved from 14.24 minutes to 12.14 minutes over the last year.
\n\u201c[For construction] we\u2019re using local firms as much as possible, and re-investing in local jobs and opportunities; and giving people that opportunity to put back into their local communities.\u201d
\nAmbulance Victoria Paramedic Senior Team Manager John Crossman told the Moorabool News the new facility will account not only for Bacchus Marsh\u2019s booming population but for the surrounding area.
\n\u201cThis development is based not just for the township, but it\u2019s based at the whole area, particularly the Eastern half of the Moorabool LGA,\u201d said Mr Crossman.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s not just a population boom in Bacchus that we have to consider, it\u2019s the expansion of Myrniong, and it\u2019s the ongoing expansions in Melton, and the expansions in Maddingley, and the expansions in Balliang.\u201d
\nAmbulance Victoria Group Manager Huw Colechin said the hub\u2019s location which is \u201cnice and close to the main freeway,\u201d will allow paramedics from this branch who are \u201cnot only able to support Bacchus Marsh, but quickly get up to places like Ballan, back into Werribee and out through to Gisborne.\u201d
\nConstruction for the hub is set to be completed by September 2019.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Meg Kennedy A bigger and better ambulance hub that will allow Bacchus March paramedics the space they need to respond to emergencies has officially begun construction. Minister for Ambulance Services Jenny Mikakos joined Member for Melton Steve McGhie last Thursday, 14 February to turn the first sod of the new $3 million Bacchus Marsh […]<\/p>\n