State budget funding sees Rochester paramedics benefit

The town is one of 15 Victorian sites to benefit from a $109 million investment in paramedics and vehicles as part of the state budget.

The funding will mean regional paramedics will go from single-officer crews to dual-officer crews.

Inglewood, Avoca, Charlton and St Arnaud ambulance stations will also benefit from the $109 million investment in paramedics and vehicles.

Campaspe Shire's Rochester ward councillor Leigh Wilson said he had already heard from residents who were excited for the announcement.

"We knew it was in the pipeline but it was fantastic news," he said.

"This is the outcome the Rochester community was seeking to address. It addresses the safety and wellbeing of the ambulance officers but also the safety and wellbeing of the community.

"First line emergency services is something all communities hold dear."

The result is a victory for Rochester residents who have had a long battle to improve the town's ambulance resources.

In July last year, the community rallied to voice concerns over the end of a trial of two-officer crews in the town.

In September, a petition urging for a review of ambulance services in the town was tabled in parliament.

"It has been just over 12 months and is a great example of a community rallying together," Cr Wilson said.

"We understand this wasn't a simple thing to do. There's ramifications. If the government need to spend more to employ more people, that money has to come from somewhere. We were realistic about that.

"There was overwhelming support from the community about what was the right amount of services we need.

"They said: 'What we've got isn't enough'. They felt they weren't getting the service they should have."

Ambulance Employees Australian - Victoria assistant secretary Olga Bartasek said it was a fantastic result for parmedics.

"Firstly, it is safer to have a second person with them with occupational violence on the rise but it also means paramedics are able to operate at a skill level that is much higher," she said.

"They can do (more) pre-hospital thrombolytics (and treatments) with a second paramedic there to troubleshoot while on the phone to the nearest emergency physician.

"So for paramedics it means a bit of stress relief."

Ms Bartasek said the addition of ambulance community officers to transport stable patients was also a benefit paramedics.

"(Those officers) are available to transport patients who need to be taken to or from a community for various reasons," she said.

"It might be someone who needs dialysis. Previously a paramedic had to do that. Now a paramedic can assess the patient and get the community officer crew to (transfer) the patient, leaving the paramedics in town more often to respond to priority (calls).

Ms Bartasek said she recalled how small the Rochester unit was.

"I remember when I worked at Rochester and was the only paramedic. There wasn't even an ambulance community officer. That was 15 years ago," Ms Bartasek said.

"So it certainly is fantastic news for (the community) who has been lobbying for many years. They are reaping the reward that someone has listened."

Minister for Health Jenny Mikakos said Victoria is home to world-class paramedics.

"They are responding to emergency situations faster than they ever have before," Ms Mikakos said.

"For regional Victoria, it means 15 single-crew stations converted to dual crew ambulance stations."

An Ambulance Victoria spokesperson said it welcomed the continued investment.

"We look forward to working with the government to implement these initiatives to enable us to continue to deliver outstanding care to the Victorian community."

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