Adult Retrieval Victoria celebrates 15 years of helping Bendigo region's most critically ill

Each year since its inception, crews have helped transport around 160 patients from Bendigo hospitals and between 90 and 100 from the Loddon Mallee and NSW regions.

Recently marking its anniversary, the crucial Ambulance Victoria service is responsible for the 24-hour clinical coordination, retrieval and care of the state's sickest patients.

ARV director and intensive care specialist Dr Jason McClure said the service provides a birds-eye view of the health system in order to manage the distribution of the critically ill and injured across regional and metropolitan hospitals.

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"We work closely with Air Ambulance Victoria to safely transfer patients by planes, helicopters and on-road ambulances," Dr McClure said.

"ARV is particularly important for those in remote areas of the state who need urgent access to specialist support.

"We aim to deliver the highest level of clinical care within the best possible time frames, no matter where you live."

Dr McClure said on average, the service helps about 6000 people annually.

Since the beginning, crews have received 1675 referrals from Bendigo, including 159 so far this year.

They have transported 1184 from Bendigo and 963 from the Loddon Mallee and sourthern NSW regions as well.

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"The workload has risen. It started with experts being on call and now, it's staffed around the clock," Dr McClure said.

"We utilise a multi-disciplinary healthcare team of emergency physicians, anaesthetists, intensivists, critical care nurses, MICA flight paramedics, on-road paramedics, patient transport officers and retrieval call-takers."

He said the service plays a key role during major emergencies involving mass casualties, such as the 2019 White Island Volcano tragedy in New Zealand.

Dr McClure took charge of ARV at the start of COVID-19 and has since seen the service double in size after being identified as a vital part of the state's pandemic response.

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"In 2021, ARV, in collaboration with Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society (ANZICS), developed an Australian-first system called the Critical Health Resource Information System (CHRIS)," he said.

"The program enabled the 191 intensive care unit hospitals across Australia and New Zealand to share essential information and resources, such as bed capacity, to ensure critical care patient load was distributed across the system.

"The CHRIS technology also allowed ARV to oversee which facilities had the most appropriate equipment, such as ventilators and dialysis machines, to help with decision making and transfer of patients who required those during the peak of the pandemic."

Dr McClure said the service is always looking at cutting edge technology to further enhance its capability.

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