New Ambulance Victoria data covers code one calls between January 1, 2013, and January 8, 2014.

The data broke down ambulance response times in local government areas and revealed people living in regional areas waited much longer for ambulances than their city counterparts.

The average response time was 23.38 minutes in Yarriambiack Shire and 22.34 minutes in West Wimmera Shire.

In Yarriambiack, 28.87 per cent of all call-outs were within the target 15 minutes. In West Wimmera it was 38.10 per cent.

Hindmarsh Shire had an average response time of 20.04 minutes, with 51.37 per cent of ambulances arriving within 15 minutes.

Northern Grampians Shire’s average was 16.02 minutes and Horsham had the best response times in the Wimmera, with an average time of 12.34 minutes.

Edenhope paramedic Jim Falla said distance between patients was the driving factor for long response times.

‘‘We have to go to Goroke for about 50 per cent of our jobs, and that’s 50 kilometres away,’’ he said.

He said paramedics at the station also worked on call.

‘‘We aren’t always at the station. At night we are at home, in bed, like everyone else, so we have to get up, get our uniform on and get to the station,’’ he said.

Mr Falla said the statistics would not have changed much during the past 10 years.

‘‘The thing that has changed, especially during the past four years, is the level of morale among paramedics has never been lower,’’ he said.

‘‘Hopefully we will see a change for the better now a new government has said it sees the value of our work.’’

Mr Falla said despite a pay dispute with the previous State Government, paramedics never comprised their care for patients.

He said since the change of government there had been a change in attitude.

‘‘All of a sudden, the government is talking about us as if we are nice people again, which is how we view ourselves,’’ he said.

Mr Falla said there was not much the government could do to improve response times in regional areas.

He said it was important the community understood how response times worked.

‘‘The response time is how long it takes between someone picking up the phone at the State Emergency Communications Centre in Ballarat to the time an ambulance pulls up in the patient’s driveway,’’ he said.

‘‘There is a common misconception that the response time is the time it takes for the ambulance to leave the station’s driveway, which isn’t the case.’’

Paramedics union secretary Steve McGhie said the data proved the service was in crisis under the Napthine government.