Tuesday, 25 August 2026

 Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (12:41): (1435) My question is again to the Minister for Ambulance Services. Minister, on Wednesday 12 August 40 ambulances were off the road because they could not be staffed. The following night it was 44. On Saturday 15 August Ambulance Victoria advised Victoria via social media:

We’re expecting a busy night in Metropolitan Melbourne tonight.

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If your emergency is not urgent or life-threatening, you may experience extended delays.

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You can help us by

Saving paramedics for life-threatening emergencies

Meanwhile, ramping at our hospitals right across the state was impacting ambulance response times. What percentage of the Ambulance Victoria fleet was available that Saturday night?

The PRESIDENT: There is a fair degree of detail in the question, but I will call the minister to answer the question.

 Ingrid STITT (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Health, Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Ambulance Services, Special Minister of State) (12:41): Our government will always make sure that the sickest Victorians have priority. We have backed our ambulance services with significant funding – $2 billion in funding since coming to government – and a 50 per cent increase in the number of paramedics on the road. I am certainly not going to be taking lectures from Ms Crozier about performance. We are absolutely laser focused on supporting our incredible paramedics, and I do want to take the opportunity to thank them for the work they do. I have had the opportunity since coming into the portfolio to meet with some of the recent graduates, including a number of MICA paramedics that will be out in regional Victoria and paramedics who will be working right through our state, providing that care when people are at their most vulnerable. I do want to thank them for their efforts.

We know that there has been increased demand, and this is not unusual when it comes to the winter peak. The chief health officer has recently indicated that we are seeing quite a late winter peak this year, and so I would certainly encourage Victorians, no matter where they live, to make sure that they are availing themselves for non-emergency matters of the other important services that our government has backed, including urgent care clinics, including the virtual emergency department, so that we can make sure that our ambulance services are there for the most life-threatening and urgent lights-and-sirens incidents.

We will continue to support our ambos. We are doing important work, backed by $50 million worth of investment in this year’s budget alone, to improve the way in which we dispatch our ambulances and also to ensure that we improve the flow between our ambulances and our emergency departments. I know that our ambulance services are working incredibly closely with our health services in major hospitals in that regard, and I want to thank them for that work. Again, this is about backing our paramedics and making sure that they have the resources and the continued investment, which our government has been proud to do – $2 billion of investment and a 50 per cent increase in paramedics on the road.

 Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (12:44): I note that the minister did not even try and attempt to answer the question I asked. It was very simple, and I would ask her to get that percentage figure, because it is important I think to understand what is going on in Victoria. She gave a lot of platitudes. I note that 500 graduate paramedics cannot get a job.

Minister, given the ongoing ramping and the extensive delays in our emergency departments – there are some terrible situations that are occurring, and ED doctors are certainly speaking out about what is happening – and you talked about response times, why have you failed to release the latest VAHI data, which was due on 31 July?

 Ingrid STITT (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Health, Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Ambulance Services, Special Minister of State) (12:45): I thank Ms Crozier for her supplementary. The data is due to be released very shortly.

 Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (12:45): I move:

That the minister’s responses be taken into consideration on the next day of meeting.

Motion agreed to.