A chronic shortage of paramedics in Mildura is at crisis point, according to Ambulance Employees Australia Union Secretary Brett Adie.
His statement came during a recent visit to the region to address unsustainable pressure on ambulance resources in the region.
He said Ambulance Victoria had resorted to flying paramedics into Mildura on numerous occasions in recent months in an effort to cover shifts.
"We're now starting to hear really distressing stories about people who've been told to find their own way to hospital," he said.
"Nanas with fractured hips, who've had to be bundled into the back of cars to get them to hospital … it's just not good enough."
Mr Adie said paramedics were under unacceptable pressure to work overtime, extra shifts, miss meal breaks, come in on days off, or return from annual leave to provide adequate ambulance coverage for the region.
"It's not a safe work environment … and the result of years of neglect by the Victorian Government," he said.
The shortage has resulted in ambulance crews being called from Robinvale to assist Mildura, leaving that town without an adequate emergency ambulance service.
"It's like shifting the deck chairs on the Titanic — it's only a matter of time until Mildura ends up on the front page of the Herald Sun because someone's died," Mr Adie said.
He is campaigning for increased funding and resources with the addition of a 24-hour roster in Mildura, which would provide more ambulances on the road as well as a larger pool of paramedics to cover shifts.
He said he would present a petition to Mildura MP Ali Cupper in the hope paramedics would gain her support.
More emergency problems
Mildura Base Public Hospital chief executive Terry Welch said the issues were exacerbated by pressures on the already overstretched emergency department.
Paramedics are required to stay with ramped patients until the emergency department has the capacity to triage or admit them.
"We work very closely with ambulance and support each other where we can to admit the patient into the emergency department or into the waiting room, so paramedics can move to the next job," Mr Welch said.
He said critically unwell patients were triaged directly into emergency treatment and only non-life threatening cases were ramped.
"It's important for the community to seek non-urgent medical help from one of the other healthcare services if possible, to alleviate the pressure on the emergency department and reduce the need for ramping of ambulances," Mr Welch said.
"We've seen some really dramatic cases across the state with 40 and 50 ambulances queued up, we've never had that, thankfully.
"But certainly we've had five and six, many times, and it does cause a lot of pressure on ambulance and on us."
Calls for community to lobby
Mr Adie is calling on the community on both sides of the Murray to write to their local members to address the ambulance shortage.
Mr Welch said a new hospital had to be built for the Mildura community and the ambulance service to cope with ever increasing demand.
"We're seeing a massive winter demand right now, which is stretching everybody and the reality is that we do not have the capacity."
Mr Welch said he waiting for the release of the Victorian Government's Mildura Base Public Hospital Master Plan and anticipated some big changes to Mildura's health service.
He said he hoped it would alleviate pressure on the emergency department and other critical services such as the ambulance.
