Vic: Ambulance target times doing nothing to save lives, union

AAP General News (Australia)
08-17-2001
Vic: Ambulance target times doing nothing to save lives, union

Unionists say the Victorian government's unrealistically long target arrival time for
ambulances is doing nothing to help save lives.

Ambulance union officials say the 16-minute target arrival time set by the government
for life-threatening situations is too long in many cases and irrelevant to paramedics
who try to get to every emergency as soon as possible.

Despite this, figures released yesterday by the Metropolitan Ambulance Service show
ambulances missed the target time an average four times a day.

And Ambulance union spokesman ROD MORRIS says paramedics often arrive too late to save
a patient because of a severe shortage in ambulance resources.

He says people are suffering and dying unnecessarily because the government doesn't
understand its obligations.

AAP RTV jmw/gfr/jh/jas

KEYWORD: AMBULANCE VIC (MELBOURNE)

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