The triple-zero theory Heidi Murphy has found ‘frustrating’ this week

Heidi Murphy has expressed frustration at the lack of action in fixing Victoria’s emergency response system, saying blame being directed at people ringing triple-zero when they shouldn’t be is distracting from the real issue at hand.

Murphy, who is filling for Tom Elliott on 3AW Drive, was prompted to share her thoughts after a call from Narelle on Wednesday.

Narelle said her husband had regular heart problems and she was now planning on driving her husband to hospital herself in the event of an emergency, because she wasn’t “game” to see if paramedics arrived on time.

A “code red” has been declared twice in the past week, which results in a warning being issued to the public informing people to expect a delay in an ambulance arriving after calling triple-zero.

Deputy Premier James Merlino said on Wednesday “all Victorians” had a role to play in keeping paramedics free to respond to emergencies, pointing out one-in-five calls made to triple-zero wasn’t for an emergency and clogged up the line.

Heidi Murphy said even if that was the case, it didn’t address the bigger problem at play.

“The system hasn’t just suddenly been overwhelmed, it’s been there as an issue for quite some time but has either been put in the ‘too hard’ basket or just left to bubble along, or been ignored,” she said.

“It’s not just a sudden issue.

“To just say it’s people overwhelming the system by calling for their COVID results is glossing over the issue.

“That’s what I find most frustrating here.”

Press PLAY below to hear her thoughts on the matter