Spending blitz for crisis-plagued triple-0 service

The Andrews government will commit to a major spending blitz to fix the state’s crisis-plagued triple-0 service before the public is allowed to view a ­report into the service’s failures.

Victoria’s crisis-plagued triple-0 service is set to receive a major cash injection, but a ­report into its failures may not be released until mid-year.

The Andrews government is pulling together a spending blitz ahead of the May 3 state budget as it seeks to put the damaging issue to bed.

The Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority has been under fire since late last year over a series of patient deaths, which exposed systemic failures and long delays for those needing help. Families of victims, some of whom watched their loved ones die waiting for an ambulance, last month said the state government had blood on its hands over ESTA’s failures.

Ongoing issues, such as staff shortages, had been flagged before the pandemic and worsened as demand on health services soared.

Victoria’s Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority has been under fire since late last year over a series of patient deaths. Picture: Wayne Taylor

In an effort to end the crisis in an election year, the state is pulling together a package it hopes will curtail the problem until it implements more long-term changes.

Staffing levels, a regular complaint for snowed-under triple-0 employees, are expected to be addressed.

But a senior source said IT upgrades and other technical improvements would also be a key feature as officials work to upgrade the service to deal with a “new normal” in patient demand.

Concerns were raised in March about ESTA’s back-up provision for its computer-aided dispatch system, a service that underpins its vital work handling calls.

The new money would be additional to a previous $115.6m announcement aimed at creating 120 jobs at the service, including call-taking and dispatch.

It comes as the recommendations of an ESTA report by former Victoria Police chief Graham Ashton may not be known for months.

The Andrews government is pulling together a spending blitz ahead of the May 3 state budget. Picture: Luis Enrique Ascui

The report has been handed over and will be used to reform the troubled system, but the state has given itself until the middle of the year to release it in full along with the government’s response.

“There’s no doubt the pandemic has put every part of our health system under enormous strain and our nurses, ambos and emergency call-takers have worked around the clock to keep people safe and deliver the care they need,” a government spokeswoman said.

“That’s why we’ve supported ESTA throughout the pandemic — including a further $115m package recently ­announced to recruit and train more call-takers to join our hardworking emergency team.”

Opposition emergency services spokesman Brad Battin said Mr Ashton’s report needed to be released.

“The government put a review in place to find out what was wrong with ESTA,” Mr Battin said.

“Twelve people have died and Victorians need to know why. If they don’t see the report, they’ll never have confidence that the system has been fixed.”