Tuesday, 22 March 2022

Ambulance services

Ms McLEISH (Eildon) (14:08): I have a question for the Premier. John lives in Yea. Last week his wife displayed symptoms of a heart attack. He said, ‘I dialled 000 and it took ages to get on—ages, really ages’. Worse still, when he eventually got through he was then told there were no ambulances to dispatch. John was panicked, and he had no option but to drive his wife to hospital himself. How is it fair that when someone is suffering from a suspected heart attack the only option in Victoria today is to be driven by a family member to the nearest hospital?

Mr ANDREWS (Mulgrave—Premier) (14:09): I thank the honourable member for her question, and whilst I will take this opportunity to express my deepest concerns and to acknowledge the distress that would have been caused to this particular individual and his wife and family, I am sure, I do not think it is accurate in any way, and the data certainly demonstrates this—

A member interjected.

Mr ANDREWS: Well, the sheer number of people who have been transported by ambulance because of cardiac arrest under lights and sirens, code 1—yesterday, the day before, last week, last month—indicates that the way you have just described the ambulance system is wrong. It is wrong, and it is a very poor reflection on your understanding of how the system works and it is equally a very poor reflection on the men and women of Ambulance Victoria.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! Just before calling the member, I ask members not to shout. Question time started in a good manner and has become too shouty.

Ms McLeish: On a point of order, Speaker, the Premier is now debating the matter, and he is suggesting that perhaps what was said is not quite accurate. I spoke to John personally, and he was panicked and he praised the staff at the hospital.

The SPEAKER: Order! The Premier is being relevant to the question that has been put.

Mr ANDREWS: For the purposes of clarity, I was not for a moment calling into question John’s version of events, rather the creative and inaccurate way in which the honourable member described ambulance services and by definition ambulance paramedics in our state. In any event, I will just remind the honourable member that prior to a one-in-100-year global pandemic—not by accident but because of a work value case, additional recruitment of ambulance paramedics, the additional construction of ambulance stations, the additional purchase of ambulance equipment and indeed massive funding boosts to the emergency department part of our hospital system—we did not report improved ambulance response times, we did not report ‘okay’ or ‘getting better’ or ‘moderately successful’, we reported in this state the best ambulance response times since records were kept. We know some are very upset about that. They are the facts of these matters, and it is a credit to every ambo, every nurse, every staff member in our hospitals and in our ambulance service. It is an absolute credit to them.

The challenge now as we normalise COVID, as we push beyond this with one of the most highly vaccinated communities in the world, is for all of us to work together, not to play politics but to get back to that level of best ever performance. In fact if we can do even better again, then that is what will drive us, because that is what has always driven us. We have never been at war with our ambos. We have never been content to see response times at any level. We have always worked to do more and do better, and prior to this one-in-100-year global pandemic event—which apparently is the fault of the government, it would seem from those opposite—we had the best ever response times. We are determined to get back to that because that is how you change lives and save lives. I will give you one piece of advice: politics will not get you there, only hard work and the commitment of our dedicated team, who have our complete support.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! This is the point in question time in which I warn members that they will be removed from the chamber if they shout across the chamber, without further warning.

Ms McLEISH (Eildon) (14:12): Many Victorians are being forced to drive themselves, be driven by a loved one or call a taxi to get them into hospital in an emergency. With people dying waiting for an ambulance, when will the Premier finally fix the 000 crisis?

Mr ANDREWS (Mulgrave—Premier) (14:13): The original question went to a very specific example, and I have made it clear we do not want to see anybody having to go through the distress that John and his family would have gone through. The supplementary is much broader and is making assertions and claims that there are no numbers, there is no data, to support that. But in any event, even if the very critical view that the honourable member has of our ambulance paramedics and the work they do were true, even if that were accurate, let me just say this: our ambulance service has come under extraordinary pressure, and when you have unprecedented demand and a goodly number of your workforce—a quarter, a half on some days—at home sick with COVID, you will finish up with impacts on services. We regret that. I point you to what occurred prior to the pandemic, the best ever performance, and I remind the honourable member and all honourable members we are determined to get back to that level of performance and even exceed it.