Ambulance Victoria has enacted its seventh red code climb in so many months, with service overflowing with overnight demand.
Key points:
- Ambulance Victoria issued its seventh red code of 2022 overnight
- A “sudden rise” in calls around midnight overwhelmed the service
- An Ambulance Victoria spokesperson says approximately 170 paramedics have been absent every day this week due to COVID
The red code was called shortly before 2 a.m. and was in place for about 90 minutes.
As part of the procedure, the ambulance service summons additional staff off duty, performs rapid discharge of patients to hospitals and sends non-urgent ambulances to respond to cases.
Ambulance Victoria Executive Director of Operations Communications Lindsay Mackay said there were no extraordinary factors that led to the red code.
“There was really nothing we could see that was different, other than we had a sudden increase in calls that came in around midnight,” Ms. Mackay said.
“They kept coming in for a couple of hours and that’s really what led us to activate the climbing plan.”
Lindsay Mackay says overwhelming demand for ambulances dropped after about an hour and a half. (ABC News)
Ms Mackay said many paramedics are absent from work as COVID spreads to the community.
“We’ve had about 170 paramedics who have been discharged every day this week because of COVID and we’re not immune to it, like anyone else.
“We are experiencing it as a permanent challenge and with the flu season it will continue to be a challenge,” he said.
Ambulance Union describes the manpower in crisis
Victorian Ambulance Union Secretary Danny Hill said pressure on paramedics’ workforce had severely affected morale.
“I had a paramedic who described the situation at the time as destructive to the soul and I think it probably reflects the feeling of many paramedics,” Hill said.
“They’re being asked to absorb much of the work from other parts of the health care system that they don’t either.”
Hill said low morale and poor working conditions led many Victorian paramedics to sneak into interstate ambulance services or change careers altogether.
“There’s no doubt we’re looking at a lot of paramedics who want to quit their jobs,” he said.
A 2021 survey of Victorian paramedics found that 74% of respondents planned to leave the profession.
Danny Hill says all ambulance services in the country are looking for qualified paramedic poachers from other services. (ABC News)
Red code repeated for the last six months
The first red code for the Victoria ambulance arrived just five days into the new year, as the COVID-19 set aside 500 paramedics and staff and left the service stretched during the holidays.
Another was called on Jan. 11, with reports that 21 critical cases were facing a delay in sending them an ambulance.
Another climb was called briefly on March 29, while technical difficulties with the shipping system led to a climb of just over an hour on May 27.
That year another red code was called, but Ambulance Victoria was unable to report it to the ABC when it happened.
The most recent red code arrived on June 28, with ambulances unable to meet demand for four hours.
In comparison, only nine were convened between 2017 and 2021.
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Mrs. Mackay urged Victorians to carefully consider whether they needed an ambulance before calling one.
“We’re aware that this is obviously not the first time we’ve called the code red,” Ms. Mackay said.
“For us it’s really asking the community to save triple 0 for emergencies.”
He said Victorians could reach out to a number of telehealth services such as Nurse-On-Call (1300 60 60 24) for medical advice instead of calling an ambulance.
The incumbent prime minister says there is “huge demand” for the ambulance system
Acting Victorian Prime Minister Jacinta Allan attributed the red code to an unprecedented demand.
He said all health systems in Australia are experiencing significant pressure due to the pandemic.
“Ambulance Victoria reported its busiest quarter in its history in the last quarter,” he said.
“This demonstrates the huge demand that is being put on our paramedic workers and ambulance personnel.”
Allan said the Victoria ambulance response was a credit to staff and paramedics.
Jacinta Allan, acting Prime Minister and Minister of Transport Infrastructure, says the Victoria ambulance is busier than ever. (ABC News)
“The Victoria ambulance responded appropriately and quickly last night, using well-established normal practices to be able to call, shortly before, additional staff,” he said.
“They were able to move very quickly to minimize the amount of time the red code was in place.”
Allan said the state government is supporting Victoria Ambulance to recruit more paramedics.
He urged Victorians to receive their fourth dose of COVID vaccine to relieve pressure on the healthcare system.
Posted 5 hours ago 5 hours ago dig. July 10, 2022 at 12:26 am, updated 43 minutes ago 43 minutes ago dig. July 10, 2022 at 5:31 p.m.