HORSHAM Rural City ambulance response times for code one incidents are among the top 10 quickest in the state.
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Code one response rates in Northern Grampians have also fallen within the 15-minute benchmark for the first time.
Ambulance Victoria released performance statistics for July to September this week.
More than 83 per cent of patients requiring urgent paramedic and hospital care were treated within the target time in Horsham, with an average response time of 10.50 minutes.
Melbourne, Frankston, Port Phillip, Kingston, Maribyrnong, Yarra, Maroondah and Warrnambool were the only areas with quicker code one response rates.
There were 279 code one incidents in Horsham in the three-month period.
This time last year, Horsham’s average code one response time was 11.56 minutes, placing it outside the top 20 in the state.
In Northern Grampians from July to September this year, code one patients were treated within 14.21 minutes, on average. This is more than two minutes quicker than for the same period in 2016.
Hindmarsh shire’s response rates however blew out from the 2016 figures.
The average code one response time was 22.20 minutes, up from 19.01 minutes this time last year.
Paramedics responded to 45 per cent of urgent callouts in less than 15 minutes, compared with 55 per cent last year. Yarriambiack’s average code one response time for the July to September quarter was 24.57 minutes, about a minute quicker than last year.
West Wimmera response times were on par with the same time last year, but the percentage of incidents within the required response timeframe improved from 32 per cent to 45 per cent.
Paramedics responded to 34.3 per cent of code one incidents within 15-minute benchmark. Ambulance Victoria acting Grampians regional director Chris James said response times had improved despite increased demand and one of the worst flu seasons on record.
“We have put on extra ambulance services and added to the paramedics and nurses in our referral service to better assess the needs of Triple Zero callers and match them to the care most appropriate to their needs,” he said.
“Our transformational reforms and significant investment in ambulance services have contributed to these improvements.
“This includes implementing a revised Clinical Response Model focused on providing the most appropriate response to all patients to ensure ambulances are available for emergencies.”