Ambulance ramping in Victoria is leaving some regions without emergency services and the problem is only getting worse.
Matthew Watt has faced many emergencies during his nine years as a paramedic but he says the night of Friday, August 16 was one of the worst.
The Victorian Ambulance Union said ramping was becoming more widespread and the latest ambulance response times showed a third of emergency patients were not receiving an ambulance within target times.According to time logs seen by the ABC, four ambulances were ramped at Bairnsdale hospital on the night of Friday, August 16.
Mr Watt and his team were then dispatched to attend to a severely sick child in Bairnsdale, 50 minutes away, at 11.14 pm.During that time, ambulances from Bairnsdale, Lakes Entrance, Paynesville and Orbost were ramped at Bairnsdale hospital. Bairnsdale Regional Health Service has confirmed ambulances were ramped outside the hospital intermittently on Friday August 16 and Saturday August 17.
"Often when we think about ambulance ramping we think of the bigger metropolitan hospitals or in major centres, but it happens statewide," he said. Data for the latest quarter of reporting shows that target is only being reached 64.2 per cent of the time."It's gotten to the point where you are really running the gamble when you dial triple-zero.The VAU said frontline staff were doing the best they could with the resources available.
"When you look at our eastern Gippsland network, I think we are reasonably well-serviced by hospitals," he says.
Hospital Ramping What Is Ambulance Ramping Victoria Ambulance Response Times Ambulance Ramping In Victoria Bairnsdale Hospital Victorian Ambulance Union Bairnsdale Regional Health Service
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