By XAVIER SMERDON
AMBULANCES are spending an average of 160 hours a month just waiting to unload patients at the Werribee Mercy Hospital, according to the latest figures.
As Wyndham paramedics gathered in Werribee last week to demand more funding for their industry and higher pay for them and their colleagues, it was revealed that ambulance response times had blown out by several minutes in Hoppers Crossing, Werribee and Point Cook.
Paramedic Danny Hill told Star that “ramping”, when an ambulance has to wait for a free bed before unloading a patient at a hospital, had become common practice at Werribee Mercy Hospital.
“Two years ago we never ever had hospital delays, now we could be waiting up to two hours at a time to unload a patient,” Mr Hill said.
“If we are stuck at the hospital when an incident occurs here then that means the nearest crews have to come from St Albans, Sunshine and Altona.”
Paramedic Alan Colley, who has spent 27 years in the job, said he had never seen the situation this bad.
“The other day there were six ambulances ramping at Werribee Mercy,” Mr Colley said.
“The growth of the hospital system clearly hasn’t kept up with the growth of the population in this area.”
Mr Hill said ramping at hospitals was the biggest factor contributing to longer response times in the area.
According to figures released by the Victorian Opposition Leader, Daniel Andrews, the average ambulance response time in Werribee, Hoppers Crossing and Point Cook has increased by 2.35 minutes, 3.25 minutes and 1.54 minutes respectively since 2010.
Star contacted the State Government for comment but they did not respond before deadline.
For more information about the Victorian paramedic’s industrial action visit www.facebook.com/coderedambos
