About one-third of the state's paramedics have suffered injuries on the job and psychological issues are the main reason why they have taken time off.

A recent study by Monash University found 7591 paramedic injuries were reported in a six-year period, 28 per cent of which led to work absences.

Manual handling, followed by psychological stressors, were the leading mechanisms of injury, the paper published in the journal Prehospital Emergency Care said.

Ambulance Victoria (AV) recently delivered a three-year Mental Health Action Plan and continues to provide assistance to paramedics and their immediate family members, with peer support, pastoral care and counselling services available 24-hours a day.

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"AV is a research focused organisation, and we welcome any evidence-based insights into how we can improve outcomes for our patients and create a safe and healthy working environment for our people," a spokesperson said.

"The work paramedics do can result in exposure to potential injury and stressful and sometimes traumatic events and AV continues to invest in innovative programs to prevent injuries, while also supporting the mental health and wellbeing of paramedics delivering frontline care and all our staff."

The organisation has also rolled out a service-wide manual handling program, Smart Moves, as part of its Health and Safety Action Plan (2019-2022).

It delivers the most comprehensive and intensive skills training in manual handling to date, and the success of this program led to a new AV manual handling instructional smartphone app.

Former workplace safety minister Ingrid Stitt said ensuring a safe work environment for every Victorian was paramount.

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"Unfortunately through some of the work that they (paramedics) do, they're exposed to some pretty traumatic events and I know that the management at Ambulance Victoria are very focused on making sure that there's programs in place to support our paramedics both in terms of physical prevention of injury, but also preventing mental injury from occurring," she told reporters on Friday.

It comes as Victoria's healthcare system continues to buckle under pressure as ambulance wait times and hospital demand soar.

About 65 per cent of critical ambulance dispatches are attended within the first 15 minutes, compared to 73 per cent in 2014, government data shows.

Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority chief executive Marty Smyth resigned in late 2021.

The following year, an independent investigation by the Inspector-General for Emergency Management, Tony Pearce, found 33 people died after delays in the state's embattled triple-zero system.

Last year, Premier Daniel Andrews proposed a $26 million package to add 40 mobile intensive care paramedics across the state, increasing the total to 640.

-With Australian Associated Press

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