Health Minister David Davis said services in rural and regional areas had vastly improved under the Coalition.

“Country Victoria has more paramedics working more shifts than ever before,” he said. 

“Country Victorians have higher survival rates than ever before – and have a better chance than ever of surviving a heart attack.”

He said there were now more paramedics and vehicles than at any other point in Victoria’s history.

“The Productivity Commission’s national Report on Government Services, released last year, found that Victoria has 43.4 qualified ambulance officers per 100,000 people, compared with the national average of 39.1,” Mr Davis said.

“Victoria also achieved an overall rating of 97 per cent of patients either satisfied or very satisfied with our ambulance service. 

“That’s satisfaction from the people who really count and know about the service – the patients – not the noisy critics.”

One of those critics, Shadow Health Minister Gavin Jennings, accused the government of not providing an efficient ambulance service in regional Victoria.

“Under the Liberals, our ambulance system is in crisis and response times are worsening every single year,” he said.

“No ambulance deadline is ever unreasonable when the lives of loved ones are at risk.”