Golden Plains residents are having to wait nearly twice as long for an ambulance as their Ballarat neighbours according to the latest Ambulance Victoria statistics for the October-December 2020 quarter.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
In a code one situation, which requires urgent paramedic and hospital care, the average response time for an ambulance in the City of Ballarat was 11:18, with 85.9 per cent of responses arriving in less than 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, Golden Plains Shire ambulances took an average of 20:54 to respond to a code one call, with just 27.7 per cent of responses arriving in less than 15 minutes.
The difference was not as stark in Ballarat's other neighbouring shires. Moorabool ambulances responded in 15:12 on average with 59.8 per cent coming in less than 15 minutes, 19:39 at 42.6 per cent for Hepburn, and 18:39 at 42.3 per cent for Pyrenees.
IN OTHER NEWS:
In code two situations, which are acute but do not require lights and sirens, the average response time in Ballarat was 29:13 while Moorabool ambulances arrived faster at an average of 28:38 with Hepburn ambulances arriving in 31:26.
In a code two situation, Golden Plains ambulances arrived 10 minutes later on average in the last quarter at 39:17 while Pyrenees ambulances also recorded a similar increase at 38:34.
Ambulance Victoria said while response times were one measure of performance, standard of care, clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction were also important and 77 additional paramedics and 16 peak period units were being rolled out as part of a $14.8 million funding package to meet growing demand.
If you are seeing this message you are a loyal digital subscriber to The Courier, as we made this story available only to subscribers. Thank you very much for your support and allowing us to continue telling Ballarat's story. We appreciate your support of journalism in our great city.
