NEW Ambulance Victoria data shows paramedics are getting to the most critically ill patients faster in the Barwon South West Region, which takes in Southern Grampians local government area (LGA), than they were a year ago.

Compared to a year ago, in the Barwon South West Region, performance also improved in Moyne, Greater Geelong, Corangamite, Warrnambool and Surf Coast LGAs.

In the Southern Grampians, the average response time to Code 1 patients was 14 minutes and 01 second, an improvement from 15 minutes and 23 seconds a year ago, and responded in under 15 minutes between 60-70 per cent of occasions.

Code 2 call outs in the shire had an average response time of between 30-35 minutes.

The improvement in performance was said to be due to more paramedics and people in the community accessing alternative and ‘virtual’ care services.

Ambulance Victoria Barwon South West regional and clinical operations director, Jessica McGowan, said July to September saw ambulances across Victoria called to 96,594 Code 1 cases – 2002 more than a year ago – making it the fourth busiest quarter recorded.

“Despite this high demand, ambulances arrived at ‘lights and sirens’ cases on average 23 seconds faster than a year ago and 52 seconds faster than the previous quarter,” she said.

Ms McGowan said more paramedics were safely referring people to the Victorian Virtual Emergency Department (VVED), which is supporting patients to get the most appropriate care at home and easing pressure on the whole health system.

“This avoids unnecessary trips to hospital and helps us get back on the road quicker to attend more life-threating emergencies,” she said.

“Since October 2021, paramedics have referred more than 47,000 patients to the VVED, while a further 2500 have been referred to the VVED following assessment by our Secondary Triage team.”

Acting chief operations officer, Anthony Carlyon, thanked the community for helping reduce demand by saving Triple Zero (000) for emergencies and accessing alternative care options for less urgent healthcare.

“There are lots of places to get timely, non-urgent health advice. If it is non-life-threatening, you can connect directly with emergency doctors and nurses at the VVED from anywhere in Victoria, at any time,” he said.

“Other options also include your local Priority Primary Care Centre, your GP or pharmacist, or Nurse-On-Call on 1300 60 60 24.

“While ambulances are always provided to patients when required, about one in five calls to Triple Zero (000) do not need an emergency ambulance response.

“From July to September, 36,566 people who did not need an emergency ambulance were instead connected by paramedics and nurses in our Secondary Triage team to more appropriate care.

“Every call that isn’t an emergency puts significant strain on our crews to reach those who need us the most, which is why we’ve tripled the size of our Secondary Triage team.

“As a result, 500 or more cases every day are being safely matched to services that better suit their needs while also avoiding emergency dispatch.”

Mr Carlyon said the entire health system was working together to deliver the very best and safest care when and where it’s needed and improve ambulance availability across the state for emergencies.

“Ambulance Victoria and hospitals from across the state are members of the Timely Emergency Care Collaborative – a Department of Health project to improve patient flow and speed up the transfer of patients,” he said.