Dan Andrews’ $26m sweetener for ‘best paramedics in Australia’

The Victorian Labor leader has announced a huge new funding project to support the state’s most essential industry.

The Victorian Premier has announced a $26m package to boost the state’s paramedics and ambulance services if the Labor government is re-elected.

On Friday, Labor leader Daniel Andrews revealed his government’s plans to introduce a new paramedic training facility, along with extra mobile intensive care ambulance (MICA) paramedics, if they were successful in the upcoming state election.

Mr Andrews said a re-elected Labor government would hire an additional 40 MICA paramedics and seven additional MICA ambulances to provide the “world’s best care to those who need it the most”.

“Today I’m very pleased to be able to announce a $26m package and it comes in three parts,” Mr Andrews said.

“MICA paramedics have the most advanced scope of practice – they’re able to provide lifesaving care to our most seriously unwell patients, whether that be a cardiac event, a trauma event, road accident, things of that nature.”

He said these specialist paramedics were able to essentially bring an intensive care unit to a patient’s home or to the scene of an accident, and the additional staff would provide more care to those most vulnerable patients.

“There’s about 600 of them and we’re going to add 40 more and that is about giving certainty to our MICA workforce that we value and respect their skill set. We value and respect their advanced scope of practice,” Mr Andrews said.

Mr Andrews also announced a new centre for paramedicine within the University of Victoria, where paramedic students can access the highest calibre of training with the government paying the bills.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has announced a $26m funding package for the state’s ambos. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

Ambulance Services Minister Mary-Anne Thomas said the Labor government had always respected the state’s ambos, in contrast to the Liberal Party who at “every opportunity have sought to go to war with our paramedics to disparage them and their skills”.

“Today’s announcements, each of them, is about furthering the skill and ability of our paramedics. We already believe we have the best paramedics in Australia. We will settle for nothing less than the best in the world,” Ms Thomas said.

“We know we’ve got the capability, we know we’ve got our great and dedicated hardworking paramedics who want to deliver the very best health care that they can. We also know that they want to continue to grow and develop their careers. That’s why the Centre for Paramedicine at VU is so important.”

“As we work with our paramedics, we have been very grateful to receive their ideas to listen to their ideas and put them into action.”

Victorian Ambulance Services Minister Mary-Anne Thomas says the Labor government has put the ideas of paramedics into action. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

Victorian Ambulance Union secretary Danny Hill said the ambulance service had been playing “catch-up” since around 40 ambulances were sold off into the private sector in the 1990s.

“They’ve been playing catch-up when it comes to their wages, their conditions, their safety standards, and nowhere was that clearer than during the pandemic and you’d remember all those scenes of long queues of ambulances out the front of aged care facilities,” Mr Hill said.

He welcomed support to bring those services back under the care of the public sector and make them non-for-profit again.

“When you turn something from a health service into a private profit driven entity, you do see a reduction in standard, so this is something that we welcome and we endorse wholeheartedly. It‘s a massive improvement.”

The Premier and Ambulance Services Minister were joined by paramedics who supported the proposed funding. Picture: Andrew Henshaw