Ambulance Victoria Loddon Mallee acting regional director Trevor Weston said while numbers were high in the area, some call outs did not warrant a Code 1 response.

"We are asking everyone in the Loddon Mallee region to help us by saving triple zero for emergencies," Mr Weston said.

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"Every call for assistance that isn't an emergency puts significant strain on our crews to reach those who need us the most.

"If it is non-life-threatening, GPs and pharmacists can provide timely non-urgent care. Nurse-On-Call (1300 60 60 24) is a great service and offers free medical advice 24 hours a day, 7 days a week."

The latest data showed in the Greater Bendigo local government area , there was a 3.1 per cent increase in life-threatening Code 1 cases from the same time a year earlier.

Paramedics attended 70.8 per cent of Code 1 patients in Greater Bendigo within 15 minutes - compared with 74 per cent for the same period in 2020.

The average response time to Code 1 patients was 14 minutes and 26 seconds.

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Response times were faster in the major population centre of Bendigo with ambulances reaching 76.1 per cent of Code 1 patients within 15 minutes with an average response time of 13 minutes and 31 seconds.

Currently, as many as one-in-five calls to triple zerofor an ambulance do not actually need an emergency ambulance response.

Paramedics across Victoria were called to 91,397 Code 1 cases between October and December, a 16.2 per cent increase on the same time in 2020 - and the most Code 1 cases in a quarter ever.

In the quarter, 66.5 per cent of Code 1 cases were responded to within 15 minutes, with a state-wide average response time of 15 minutes and 11 seconds.

Ambulance Victoria chief executive Tony Walker said the record workload and slower response times were no surprise given the impact of the pandemic.

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"Paramedics are under increasing pressure due to fatigue and record workload, wearing PPE to all cases and furloughing due to COVID-19 exposure, reducing staff and ambulance availability.

Professor Walker said Ambulance Victoria was doing everything possible to relieve pressure in the system and get more paramedics back on the road and to patients quicker, however this was challenging given the unprecedented demand.

"Our expanded Secondary Triage Service is currently managing around 1000 cases a day - that is freeing up more ambulances for the sickest patients by connecting cases who do not need an emergency ambulance with alternative care," he said.

"We have recruited 700 paramedics in the last year - our single largest annual recruitment ever.

"We have also recently rolled out 22 new Medium Acuity Transport Services in metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria."

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