Twenty new highly-skilled paramedics are ready to hit the road and start saving lives as part of the latest class of graduates to join the Ambulance Victoria workforce.
Ambulance Services Minister Mary-Anne Thomas attended the graduation ceremony at Ambulance Victoria’s new Capability Hub located at Victoria University’s Sunshine campus.
The Hub is Australia’s first and only education and training hub for paramedicine.
In the latest class of graduates, 19 are now fully qualified Advanced Life Support (ALS) paramedics, having completed their university studies and a year of supervised on-road placements – most graduate paramedics will be qualified in ALS, meaning they can provide sick and injured Victorians care, treatment and transport to hospital.
Another has completed further studies to become a Mobile Intensive Care Ambulance (MICA) paramedic allowing them to provide a higher level of care – performing more advanced medical procedures and making complex clinical decisions without medical consultation.
This can include dealing with advanced airway management, complex head injuries, treating life-threatening chest injuries and providing advanced care for cardiac conditions.
In total, 516 paramedics will be celebrating their graduation this year and next year, adding to the more than 1,300 paramedics who have joined the ranks since 2021.
Victoria’s paramedics have worked through unprecedented levels of demand, including 96,594 Code 1 cases alone in the July to September quarter of this year. Paramedics have also directed more than 40,000 triple-0 callers to the Victorian Virtual Emergency Department for more appropriate levels of care.
Ambulance Services Minister Mary-Anne Thomas said paramedics provide the highest quality of care and compassion in what can be people’s worst moments.
“… it’s a pleasure to welcome these latest graduates to our paramedic workforce,” she said.
“We are seeing record levels of demand for ambulances in Victoria, which is why we are investing in our paramedic workforce, to ensure we can keep delivering the highest quality care for Victorians when and where they need it.”
