PARAMEDICS are responding faster on average to the most seriously ill people in the Barwon South West Region after record demand for ambulances eased between January and March this year.

Ambulance Victoria Barwon South West regional director, Terry Marshall, said ambulance performance improved thanks to reduced demand.

“January to March saw ambulances called to 92,413 Code 1 cases across Victoria, which provided some welcome relief to our hard-working paramedics who faced rising demand during the pandemic,” he said.

“That’s 7825 or 7.8 per cent fewer ‘lights and sirens’ cases compared to the previous quarter - which was the busiest in our history with more than 100,000 cases.

“We thank the community for helping us relieve pressure on our paramedics and the health system by saving Triple Zero (000) for emergencies.”

From January to March, paramedics across Victoria responded to 65.2 per cent of Code 1 cases within the state-wide average target of 15 minutes - up from 60.2 per cent in the previous three months.

The state-wide average response time to Code 1 emergencies was 15 minutes and 20 seconds - an improvement of one minute and 24 seconds.

In the Barwon South West Region, performance against the 15-minute target improved in Southern Grampians, Queenscliffe, Moyne, Glenelg, Warrnambool, Colac-Otway, Greater Geelong, and Surf Coast Local Government Areas (LGAs).

“However, now is not the time to be complacent,” Mr Marshall said.

“We know demand is already rising again and will continue to do so as we head towards winter.

“That’s why I encourage all Victorians take care of themselves and keep regular check-ups with your GP or specialist.”

Ambulance Victoria Clinical Operations acting executive director, Michael Georgiou, said while ambulances are always provided to patients when required, from January to March 37,825 people who did not need an emergency ambulance were instead connected by paramedics and nurses in their Secondary Triage team to more appropriate care.

“That results in 500 or more cases every day being safely matched to services that better suit their needs while also avoiding emergency dispatch,” Mr Georgiou said.

Mr Georgiou said Ambulance Victoria continued to work closely with stakeholders across the entire health system to ensure patients received the most appropriate response for their needs and improve ambulance availability across the state.

“We’ve recruited more than 1300 paramedics over the past two years, tripled the size of our Secondary Triage team and have referred almost 32,000 cases to the Victorian Virtual Emergency Department (VVED) since October 2021 to help avoid unnecessary trips to our hospitals,” he said.