Tuesday, 14 October 2025

 Bev McARTHUR (Western Victoria) (13:03):My question to the Minister for Health concerns a shocking example of failed regional health care in my electorate. A patient presented with chest pain in the urgent care department at 2:45 pm. The consulting medical practitioner requested an ambulance within half an hour, yet the ambulance finally arrived to collect the patient at 8:45 pm – nearly 6 hours later. This was not a worried family overstating a request from home, it was in hospital, with the doctor’s explicit, clinical judgment fearing for the patient’s safety. Ambulance Victoria currently fails to meet its own benchmark of responding to 85 per cent of code 1 emergencies within 15 minutes. In the latest quarter, only 65 percent did so, hence cases like that suffered by my constituent. Minister, how can such extreme delays still occur, and what are you going to stop this risk to life on a daily basis?