Ambulance response times in Wyndham have improved by more than 6 per cent, new figures show.
Last week Ambulance Victoria released a report about its average response times between January 1 and March 31, including for Code 1 emergencies. These are defined as the most critical medical cases which require both lights and a siren.
In the first three months of this year in Wyndham paramedics logged an average 12 minute response time for Code 1 call-outs.
This was a 6.8 per cent improvement on the previous average response time of 13.28 minutes, which was recorded in Wyndham between October and December last year.
Ambulance Victoria’s chief executive Tony Walker said the thunderstorm asthma event in November had affected response times during the period, but he also said the recent addition of a new 24-hour ambulance service in Wyndham, staffed by a team equivalent to 14 extra full-time paramedics, would also help to improve response times in the area.
The new paramedics will be based at the Werribee ambulance station until their new station is built in Wyndham Vale next year.
However, the state opposition’s spokeswoman for rural and regional health Margaret Fitzherbert said the state government needed to be more transparent about ambulance response times.
Ms Fitzherbert said about 18 months ago, the government changed the definition of Code 1 call-outs without much publicity.
But Mr Walker said the changes were made so ambulances would be sent to patients who were in the most need.
“This process involved changing the response code for some case types, as we were able to demonstrate through a comprehensive review that these cases were not seriously unwell and did not need a Code 1 response,” he said.
