Ambulance response times across regional Victoria continue to fall well below Ambulance Victoria standards, with all six LGAs within the Euroa electorate failing to meet the official response time targets.
Ambulance Victoria’s benchmark is for 85 per cent of Code 1 emergencies to be responded to within 15 minutes. This target is being routinely missed in regional areas.
Newly released data from Ambulance Victoria for Q3 2024–25 reveals that Benalla (59.7 per cent), Mitchell (52.3 per cent), and Strathbogie (37.9 per cent) recorded the worst response rates in the region for Code 1 incidents.
Similarly, the Campaspe Shire (60.6 per cent), Greater Bendigo (63.8 per cent), and Greater Shepparton (71.8 per cent) also fell below the target times.
The Nationals Member for Euroa and Shadow Assistant Minister for Health, Annabelle Cleeland, said the figures are just the latest evidence that Labor is failing to deliver basic services to regional communities.
“The issues within our ambulance services and response times are a symptom of a government that has neglected our healthcare system for too long,” Ms Cleeland said.
“The stark reality is that our regional health services are really struggling, and this is particularly prominent when looking at our ambulance system.
“Without further investment from Government, our regional healthcare system will continue to fail, and people will suffer.”
In addition to local delays, ambulance ramping reached crisis levels across the state on Monday. At one stage, just four per cent of Melbourne’s ambulance fleet was available to respond to genuine emergencies, according to the Victorian Ambulance Union.
These issues left Victorians waiting hours for urgent care overnight, with widespread paramedic staff shortages, hospital ramping, and overwhelmed emergency departments pushing the system to breaking point.
“These are not just numbers. They are people in pain and in danger, waiting far too long for help to arrive,” Ms Cleeland said.
“Labor’s failure to properly invest in health and emergency services in the regions is putting lives at risk.”