By XAVIER SMERDON
WYNDHAM could soon be home to another ambulance station with the Department of Health confirming it is sourcing a location in the Hoppers Crossing area.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health said that if a station could be built in the area, staff from the Werribee station would be used to run it.
“(T)here was funding for a Peak Period Unit staffed by paramedics to cover the needs of Hoppers Crossing. It is now already operating, and is working at this stage out of Werribee,” the spokesperson said.
“The Department is looking at building another ambulance station in the region. If and when this is finalised, the Hoppers Crossing PPU would transfer to operate from it.”
Currently there is only a Werribee and Point Cook station in Wyndham, despite the municipality expected to exceed 245,000 people in just nine years.
The spokesperson for the Department of Health said, however, that currently no funding had been allocated for a Mobile Intensive Care Ambulance (MICA) unit in Wyndham.
Mayor Kim McAliney told Star that Wyndham desperately needed a MICA unit.
“I’m confident that we will get a MICA unit but we have to fight for everything we get in Wyndham,” Cr McAliney said.
“It is a personal passion of mine and we are talking about a life and death issue here.”
Cr McAliney said she had been holding regular meetings with Ambulance Victoria management about the issue since February.
“Our roads are in gridlock so we’re already on the back foot with ambulance response times,” she said.
“Every minute counts when you are talking about ambulance response times and if someone needs to wait 30 minutes because an ambulance is stuck in traffic it is not good enough.
“I’m confident in the near future that we will get a MICA unit and Ambulance Victoria understand that we need one, we’ve just got to now make it happen.”
An Ambulance Victoria paramedic told Star that currently paramedics were having to travel from as far away as Geelong and Deer Park to attend incidents in Wyndham.
