Diamond Creek's new stand-alone ambulance branch is almost complete and will soon deliver even faster response times to life-threatening local emergencies.
Minister for Ambulance Services Jill Hennessy today inspected the $2.5 million state-of-the-art ambulance branch in Diamond Creek.
The project is on track to be completed in November – more than six months early – with services currently being fitted out, external works nearing completion and internal works underway.
The current Diamond Creek ambulance branch is part of an emergency services complex with Ambulance Victoria, the Country Fire Authority and Victoria Police.
The new separate, larger and purpose-built station will feature a spacious and functional garage for vehicles, rest and recline areas, training room, bedrooms, modern amenities and a fully fitted out kitchen.
When it opens its doors, the branch will allow the Diamond Creek ambulance team to double their current hours of coverage from operating during peak periods to 24 hours a day.
Under the Liberals, who went to war with our paramedics, Victoria's ambulance system was plunged into crisis and it led to the worst response times on the Australian mainland.
The Labor Government has fixed the Liberals' mess and is delivering the largest funding boost for ambulance services in Victoria's history. Our $500 million plan to cut response times is employing 450 more paramedics, building more stations and buying new vehicles across the state.
Thanks to our reforms of the system and record investment, 83.8 per cent of all Code One urgent ambulances are arriving within 15 minutes – the best quarterly result in Ambulance Victoria's history.
In the Nillumbik Shire, 72.3 per cent of ambulances are now arriving within 15 minutes for Code One emergencies, up from 59.6 per cent a year earlier, while the average time for an ambulance to reach the scene of a Code One has improved from 15.34 minutes to 13.11 minutes.
As noted by Minister for Ambulance Services Jill Hennessy
"It's exciting to see that the new home for Diamond Creek's hardworking paramedics is almost complete. A modern, stand-alone station means they have the facilities they need to grow and save more lives."
"We are investing more than any Government in Victoria's history to improve ambulance response times, here in Diamond Creek and across the state."
As noted by Member for Yan Yean Danielle Green
"The branch will double ambulance coverage for the Diamond Creek community. When an emergency strikes, Nillumbik families can rest assured they'll get the emergency care they need sooner, all day, every day."
