A NEW RefCom referral service will help alleviate pressure on the ambulance system but more needs to be done, says Bendigo paramedic Brett Adie.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The system will divert patients with non life- threatening medical problems to local doctors or services.
Mr Adie spoke about pressures on the ambulance system this week and said there had been an increase in the number of times additional staff had been urgently recalled.
"RefCom will definitely make a difference, it will help," he said.
"But even with RefCom working at its best, it's still not going to stop these problems from happening.
"It may alleviate some of them and instead of 32 times in 50 days we might recall 25 times."
Ambulance Victoria said the referral service had operated successfully in Melbourne and Barwon South-West for a number of years.