CODE RED: Ambulance service pushed to breaking point again

Ambulance Victoria declared a ‘code red’ in the metropolitan Melbourne area early on Tuesday morning.

The crisis protocol was in place for four hours from about 12.15am.

Ambulance Union secretary Danny Hill says unfilled shifts, prompted by work strain and burnout, were the major factor contributing to the crisis.

“Just due to the overall strain of the last few years we have a lot of paramedics who are unfortunately dropping a lot of shifts,” he told Jacqui Felgate, filling in for Dee Dee.

“The morale has never been lower, the burnout has never been higher.”

Mr Hill says ambulance fleet availability at about 1am fell to between zero to two per cent.

“What that means is only around two per cent of the fleet were available to respond,” he said.

“Sometimes in a code red they might actually advise people to safely and carefully make their own way to hospital because that’s probably going to be the quickest way for them to get the care they need.”

In a statement, Ambulance Victoria said 146 staff were unable to work last night due to illness, or because they were caring for family and friends with COVID-19.

Mr Hill says this is “probably about the third code red” in six months.

“Code orange would happen several times a week,” he said.

Press PLAY below to hear what’s fuelling the ambulance crisis