More than 100 new paramedics are to be fast-tracked into Ambulance Victoria’s frontline as part of the States COVID-19 battle.
Minister for Ambulance Services, Jenny Mikakos said the new paramedics would hit the ground from next month.
“We will need our paramedics more than ever over the coming months,” Ms Mikakos said.
“But we don’t want to have a situation where they have to choose between coronavirus cases and other serious conditions such as heart-attacks and strokes,” she said.
“The boost will also increase capacity in Ambulance Victoria’s specialist areas including the secondary triage service, where expert nurses and paramedics assess and provide advice to less serious cases.”
Ms Mikakos said Ambulance Victoria had started the selection process and was aiming to recruit 60 staff in May and June.
She said patient transport services would also benefit from additional resources for Ambulance Victoria’s Adult Retrieval Victoria.
“The patient transport service will expand its 24-hour telephone advice service to provide round-the-clock telehealth, regional clinical support, co-ordination and critical care retrieval for the next six months,” she said.
Ms Mikakos said the expansion of Adult Retrieval Victoria included extra patient transport officers, administrative support officers, medical consultants, medical coordinators and critical care registered nurses.
