The state government said one new ambulance service would support the communities of Kaniva, Goroke and Halls Gap, while a second service would support the towns of Harrow, Balmoral, Coleraine, Dartmoor, Glenthompson and Penshurst.

The new service is part of a $500 million investment over five years to employ 450 more paramedics, buy new vehicles and build new branches across the state.

It is based on a successful model trialled this year at Wedderburn and Warracknabeal and will feature a paramedic community support co-ordinator and vehicle.

The paramedic community support co-ordinator will be an experienced paramedic who can provide a local emergency response, while also training and supervising local volunteer teams who can respond to incidents.

The new service is scheduled to start by mid-2019.

“We’re putting people in regional Victoria first, with the biggest ever investment in Victoria’s history to cut ambulance response times even further and save more lives,” Minister for Ambulance Services Jill Hennessy

“Response times are the best they have been in five years, but there’s still more work to do. Now we have the system working better, it’s time to invest in new branches and paramedics on the road.”

Member for Western Victoria Jaala Pulford said Wimmera families could look forward to the peace of mind that emergency care was close by when needed most.

“This is an exciting new model for regional and rural communities where a professional paramedic is providing better access to critical care and training-up dedicated local volunteers to respond to emergencies,” she said.