Dear Editor,
The latest Ambulance Victoria performance report highlights both the dedication of our frontline paramedics and the ongoing challenges facing regional communities when it comes to timely access to emergency healthcare.
While it is encouraging to see some improvement in ambulance response times across Victoria, the data shows there is still a long way to go for many Gippsland communities.
Only 45.3 per cent of Code 1 emergencies in South Gippsland and 50.1 per cent in Wellington Shire were attended within the state’s 15-minute target. Both remain well below the Victorian average of 66.4 per cent.
I want to acknowledge the outstanding work of our paramedics, first responders and hospital staff, who continue to provide excellent care under significant pressure. The issue is not the dedication of frontline workers, but whether the system is giving them the resources they need to meet community expectations.
Recently, I raised in Parliament the case of a Gippsland family who were told no ambulance would be available for several hours and later experienced a lengthy delay when a patient required urgent transfer for specialist surgery. Another local resident was advised an ambulance could be hours away and ultimately relied on a friend to get him to hospital.
These stories remind us that statistics only tell part of the story.
For families facing a medical emergency, response times are not numbers on a page. They can have a direct impact on health outcomes and peace of mind.
Gippslanders deserve the same timely access to emergency healthcare as Victorians anywhere else in the state and I hope to see improvements in the months ahead.
Yours sincerely,
Danny O’Brien MP
The Nationals Member for Gippsland South
