Daniel Andrews says deaths of 33 people waiting for ambulances not linked to triple-zero agency funding

Victorian premier Daniel Andrews says there’s ‘no equivalence’ between Esta’s funding model and it’s inability to respond to calls during the 18-month period examined in a recent report. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP

Victoria’s premier, Daniel Andrews, has apologised to the families of 33 people who died while waiting for an ambulance during the pandemic but said the funding model of the state’s triple-zero call-taking agency was not to blame.

Andrews described the Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority (Esta) as “completely and utterly overwhelmed” by calls relating to Covid-19 at the time of the deaths, which were detailed in an independent report released on Saturday.