However, the town now has its own volunteer Community Emergency Response Team which can attend medical emergencies quicker than any paramedic despatched from Ballarat could achieve.

The 10-member volunteer unit was officially launched yesterday, but had been operating since December.

In that time volunteers have responded to 29 medical emergencies, ranging from falls, cuts bruises and home injuries, to chest pains and a seizure.

Meredith CERT leader Andrea Rooney said previously she would sometimes attend road trauma with her husband and police officer Mick Rooney to help with first aid until paramedics arrived, a wait of up to 25 minutes.

"What we realised was we needed equipment, we needed protocols, we needed structure," she said.

"I think one of the most positive things is once we get there, families, the patient and everybody around them tends to relax, and a lot of it is reassuring people everything will be okay."

Members do 20 weeks training and can give oxygen, use a defibrillator and treat broken bones.

Ambulance Victoria Grampians region general manager Greg Leach said in a case of cardiac arrest it was important to be at the scene as soon as possible.

"It's a good 25 minutes from Sebastopol or Geelong and we have always had response time delivery issues to Meredith. To get a CERT team established is quite significant for us," he said.

"Even though they can be going about their normal, everyday lives, they can be at a medical emergency in 10 minutes and that can make all the difference."

The State Government contributed $25,000 for start-up costs of the Meredith team and will pay $7000 for other costs until early next year when the team will be reviewed. The community has also helped with the donation of a car, fuel, registration, and other costs.