Ambulance Victoria has won the Council of Ambulance Authorities (CAA) Excellence in Clinical Practice award for 2025, announced last night at the annual Congress in Adelaide.
The award recognised the Safe Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation in the CommunitY (STAY) trial - a groundbreaking program that could help thousands of Victorians with atrial fibrillation (AF) avoid unnecessary hospital visits each year.
The STAY trial allows paramedics to assess and treat eligible patients with low-risk AF in the community using beta-blockers and blood thinners before referring them to a specialist outpatient service, avoiding the need for emergency department (ED) transport.
The award comes as Ambulance Victoria and Monash University secured $1.5 million from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) to lead the statewide rollout of the STAY model.
The expanded model builds on the success of the STAY trial, where paramedics collaborated with Austin Health cardiologists to safely treat patients at home and refer them to a rapid access AF clinic.
Executive Director Quality & Clinical Innovation, Dr Tegwyn McManamny, congratulated the Research and Evaluation team leading the initiative.
"This is a well-deserved win for the team who have not only been recognised with such a prestigious award but also secured funding to lead the program's statewide rollout," Dr McManamny said.
"The STAY model is absolutely incredible work with significant flow-on benefits for our health system in terms of ED avoidance and, most importantly, meaningful outcomes for patients with AF."
The project will also see the creation of a new Victorian Virtual Cardiac Clinic (VVCC), leveraging existing virtual ED infrastructure to provide tailored outpatient care and follow-up for patients with cardiac concerns.
Ambulance Victoria will work in partnership with Alfred Health, Safer Care Victoria, the Heart Foundation, and the Victorian Virtual Emergency Department (VVED) to deliver the new model.
This model is part of a broader transformation in how ambulance services and health partners deliver care. Work is already underway to equip ambulances with point-of-care blood analysers, allowing paramedics to test and safely refer patients with low-risk chest pain to community-based care.
FAST FACTS:
- Over 4,500 Ambulance Victoria attendances for AF are recorded annually.
- More than 50 per cent of patients with AF and chest pain are found to be low-risk and are discharged from ED within hours.
- The expanded model is expected to significantly reduce ED demand and hospital ramping.
This year's CAA awards attracted more than 45 submissions from ambulance services across Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.
