Ambulance Victoria calls another code red as hospitals hit with high demand

Melbourne’s recent smoke haze could be partly to blame for a huge spike in calls for help which caused hazoc on Tuesday night.

Ambulances ramping at Dandenong Hospital on Tuesday.

Melbourne’s recent smoke haze could be partly to blame for a huge spike in calls for help which left just 1 per cent of Victoria’s ambulances available to respond to emergencies on Tuesday night.

Ambulance Victoria was forced to declare a code red in a desperate bid to free up paramedics who had been hit with an intense workload and more hospital ramping.

Just hours earlier, about 10 ambulances were queued outside Dandenong Hospital’s emergency department.

Victorian Ambulance Union secretary Danny Hill said the increased demand may have been caused by choking smoke from planned burns across the state, which resulted in some suburbs recording air quality worse than pollution levels in India and Bangladesh.

Victorian Ambulance Union secretary Danny Hill, centre, with paramedics. Picture Jay Town

Mr Hill said that several members suggested those conditions could be to blame for an increase in respiratory illnesses.

“This smoke haze does seem to be a factor … and, to be fair, it’s probably what the code red system is designed for – to respond to an event,” he said.

A warning was issued just before 11.50pm on Tuesday night that just 1 per cent of the Ambulance Victoria fleet was available. Mr Hill said that on any given night about 300 resources were generally available on overnight shifts.

A Royal Melbourne Hospital spokeswoman said almost 300 people presented to its ED on Tuesday.

Ambulance Victoria acting chief executive Libby Murphy said calling a code red – which was used in the deadly thunderstorm asthma event of 2016 – allowed paramedics to manage demand.

“It’s sounds alarmist but it’s actually not. It’s a measured response that allows us to respond in a time of need,” she said. Ambulance Victoria also defended its decision to not inform the community about the code red through social media.

Acting Premier James Merlino said that the crisis highlighted the challenge of having 168 paramedics in Covid-19 isolation and more than 2000 healthcare workers furloughed across the network.

“The pandemic continues to be a challenge for our health system,” he said.

But opposition health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier said: “Victoria’s ambulance crisis wasn’t caused by Covid. It’s the result of years of mismanagement by the Andrews Labor government.

“It’s simply not good enough that Victorians are living in fear that an ambulance won’t be there when their lives depend on it.”

A second report into the toxic culture inside Ambulance Victoria will be made public on Thursday.

The Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission handed down its first report in November, which found widespread reports of “incivility, disrespect, discrimination, sexual harassment, bullying and victimisation” across the organisation.