Liberal candidate for Gembrook Brad Battin (right) shared his party’s plans for a 24-hour station with Liberal stalwart Keith Thomas outside the Yarra Junction ambulance station.
By Kath Gannaway
YARRA Junction ambulance station would become a 24-hour station under a Liberal government.
Coalition leader Ted Baillieu announced last week Yarra Junction was one of three Yarra Ranges stations, including Belgrave and Emerald, which would be manned 24 hours a day if they win government in November.
Mr Baillieu said the deal would include an extra six paramedics.
Liberal candidate Brad Battin visited Yarra Junction with local Liberal stalwart Keith Thomas to announce the promised upgrade.
He said figures released under Freedom of Information showed ambulance response times at Yarra Junction had patients on average waiting longer than the 15 minutes response target set by the Brumby government on three out of seven months between November 2009 and May 2010.
Shadow spokesperson for Health and Ageing, David Davis, told the Mail while the overall average was under the 15 minutes, the base-line result indicated that in Yarra Junction, the state’s target response was only being met 50 per cent of the time.
“On the figures provided, I think we can say that on a number of occasions the response time is significantly over the 15 minutes,” Mr Davis said.
Ambulance Victoria is not commenting on the promised expansions, except to say it would be welcomed.
“We’re an independent, apolitical organisation and as such don’t provide comment on either party’s policies,” Ambulance Victoria Operations manager Simon Thomson told the Mail.
“But, anything that puts extra paramedics on the road is welcome,” he added.
Gembrook MP Tammy Lobato also had no comment – at this stage – on the plan.
She said she had made Minister for Health Daniel Andrews fully aware of the ambulance situation in her electorate.
“I look forward to the release by the Brumby Government of a metropolitan ambulance package as flagged by the Minister when releasing the rural and regional package on 30 June,” Ms Lobato said.
Mr Davis said he was looking forward to another report – that of the Auditor-General who he said was presently undertaking an audit of Ambulance Victoria and which he has said would be released before the 27 November election.
“We know there are serious problems since the merger of rural ambulance and metro ambulance, including recruitment, staff-turnover and other problems which will need to be dealt with systematically,” he said.
On the ground, people like Russell Wulf, training officer with Upper Yarra SES, had no reservation in declaring his support for a 24-hour station at Yarra Junction.
Mr Wulf praised the work of the local paramedics, saying in most crash cases they are called to, the ambulance is there before them.
He said, however, at Warburton on Friday where three people required ambulance transport, the 20 minute delay in getting an ambulance to the scene was a concern.
Ambulance Victoria has confirmed it took “just over 20 minutes” for the first ambulance to arrive at Warburton, “due to the distances involved”.
Ambulances were dispatched from Healesville, Kilsyth and Ringwood East.
“We needed the paramedics there to provide medical back-up before we could release one person who was trapped,” he said.
“A 24-hour station would be a good thing … unquestionably,” he said.
