The next generation of Ambulance Victoria recruits will hit the road later this month - delivering care to Victorians right across the state.
Minister for Ambulance Services Mary-Anne Thomas today visited the Ambulance Victoria Leader Simulation Centre in South Melbourne to meet the latest intake of graduates who will start their careers at the end of May.
Following three years of full-time study - involving a combination of practical simulations, coursework, and clinical placements - the graduates are well-prepared to help meet demand.
The latest intake includes 20 graduates who will now begin the graduate bridging program as Medium Acuity Transport Service (MATS) paramedics at branches right across the state, with six graduates in Melbourne and 14 across Barwon South, Gippsland, Grampians, Loddon Mallee and Hume.
The bridging program runs for 16 months and provides graduates with the opportunity to hone their knowledge and skills by initially working in a medium acuity setting, providing care for Code Two and Code Three patients.
For the first six months, MATS work and complete learning tasks under direct supervision from experienced paramedics - later transitioning to responding to the full breadth of triple zero calls, including Code One cases, once the overall bridging program is complete.
MATS was established by the Labor Government in 2021 and plays an important role in Victoria's world-class healthcare system, freeing up valuable resources to respond to the most urgent and time-critical emergency cases.
The current intake of graduates will be followed by another two before the end of the financial year - the next intake to include 30 additional graduate paramedics starting at the end of May.
The Allan Labor Government has invested more than $2 billion into ambulance services - recruiting more than 2,200 additional paramedics, delivering 41 new or upgraded ambulance stations and establishing a new Centre for Paramedicine in partnership with Victoria University.
Paramedics are also getting the training and skills they need to deliver increasingly specialised levels of care, with 2022 election commitments helping to deliver Australia's first Paramedic Practitioners and more MICA paramedics.
These investments are as important as ever, with the latest quarterly performance data revealing Victorian paramedics responded to nearly 100,000 Code One cases this quarter, or around 1,100 lights and sirens cases daily.
This is more than 3,000 additional Code One incidents than at the same quarter last year - an increase of 1.5 per cent year-to-date on what was Ambulance Victoria's busiest year on record.
As stated by Minister for Ambulance Services Mary-Anne Thomas
"We're continuing to put more paramedics on the road across Victoria, as demand continues to grow - and this latest group of graduates will make a real difference in supporting faster care in their communities."
"MATS paramedics play a critical role by attending less urgent cases, helping to free up our emergency ambos and keep them available for life-threatening Code One cases."
