Victorians in emergency situations continue to be let down as the head of Victoria's Ambulance Union states that triple-zero delays are costing lives.
Over the last two years, a lack of call taking staff at Victoria's triple-zero hotline has seen Victorians in need placed on hold for up to 15 minutes as only 3 in 10 calls are answered within target time frames.
General Secretary of the Victorian Ambulance Union, Danny Hill has stated "there should've been more staff put on before the peak of the pandemic, so there's no doubt that this is having a flow on effect."
"There's no question that there's cases where we could've got an ambulance to a person very quickly but because of delays in getting the original calls answered, there's been quite a serious delay in getting care to a patient and the patient has died."
Victoria will never rebuild and recover whilst our health system continues to fall apart.
Daniel Andrews has been Premier or Health Minister for 11 of the past 15 years. No one is more responsible for the failing state of our emergency health system than he is.
The State Government's mismanagement and underinvestment in health and emergency systems continues to have tragic consequences and is leaving Victoria even further behind.
As stated by Shadow Minister for Health, Georgie Crozier:
"Under Daniel Andrews mismanagement of our emergency health system, tragic outcomes have become all too frequent.
"Victoria will never recover and rebuild whilst families in need struggle to get the help they need, when they need it the most."
As stated by Shadow Minister for Emergency Services, Brad Battin:
"Daniel Andrews failure to prepare triple-zero is leading to unacceptable delays in getting people the help they need.
"Victoria will never recover and rebuild whilst our emergency hotline is in disarray. A Matthew Guy Liberal Nationals Government will put on more triple-zero call takers so in an emergency Victorians are not left on hold."
