Emergency calls in Victoria going unanswered past benchmark during Covid surge

Victoria’s health system is under enormous pressure with one statistic revealing how the crisis is affecting people needing emergency care.

The majority of 000 calls made by Victorians are not being answered within the allotted period as the state battles through skyrocketing Covid cases.

The chaos has seen seven in 10 calls not answered within the mandated five seconds advised by Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority (ESTA).

To hit the service’s own benchmark, at least 90 per cent of calls must be answered within the allocated time.

However, the number of emergency calls actually answered on time could be as low as 30 per cent during the surge, The Age reports.

The reality of Victoria’s 000 service has been detailed.

“This is literally life and death stakes and yet they’re on hold because there is no one to answer the call,” one 000 operator told the newspaper.

Premier Daniel Andrews detailed the situation during a Covid update on Tuesday, saying more than 400 ambulance staff were unable to attend work because of isolation requirements

“We’ve got 420 of them who are at home, who aren’t out on the road because they’ve got this (Covid) or they’re a close contact of someone who has got it,” he said.

“If every time you attend a patient you’ve got to put PPE on, then take PPE off, go through all the infection control … protocols … that adds seconds, minute.

“Plus of course there is a lot of people who are very tired from two hellish years.”

Victorian Ambulance Union General Secretary Danny Hill also advised people to avoid 000 if their situation wasn’t serious.

“Some (operators) said 40 to 50 per cent (of calls) were Covid related, but of that only about one-in-five really had anything wrong with them at all,” he told Herald Sun.

“The vast majority were just confused, didn’t know who else to turn to, didn’t know where else to go and just thought I’ll dial triple-0 and are just seeing triple-0 as a one-stop shop for everything, which it isn’t.”

Ambulances outside the Northern Hospital in Epping. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Geraghty

Federal Communications Minister Paul Fletcher echoed the advice, urging people to only use 000 in an emergency.

“Triple-0 is one of our most important services, saving countless lives every year, and it’s critical we keep that service functioning as it should,” he said,

“The assistance and judgment of every Australian to ensure they call only when there is a genuine emergency is critical to that.”

In December 2021, triple-0 operators answered more than 940,000 calls – 40,000 more calls than the previous year and over 100,000 more calls than a month earlier.

The crisis comes after ambulance services in Melbourne were forced to declare a code red for the second time in a week with services stretched desperately thin across the city.

Just after midnight on Tuesday, anyone needing non-emergency care was urged to contact Nurse on Call or GP services instead.

“Ambulance Victoria is experiencing an extremely high demand for ambulances in the metropolitan region,” a statement said.

“It is likely there will be a delay in an ambulance reaching you.

“Our priority is to provide care to Victorians who require lifesaving assistance.”

A week earlier, the embattled service implemented another code red as Victoria’s daily cases skyrocketed past 10,000.

More than 500 Ambulance Victoria staff were furloughed at the time with SES and Lifesaving Victoria used to help keep up with demand.