Victoria University has promised its own multi-million dollar investment to deliver a new cutting-edge training facility in the heart of Sunshine.
Visiting the site of the future Centre of Excellence in Paramedicine on February 2, Ambulance Services Minister Mary-Anne Thomas announced Victoria University (VU) will invest an additional $10 million, bringing the total investment into the centre to $20 million.
The centre will provide paramedics with quality training to ensure they can meet the needs of the Victorian community in the face of record demand.
On track to open in 2026, the Australian-first centre will feature high-tech training equipment, life-size replicas of environments for paramedics to practice simulated emergencies – with the first of these set-ups, a replica ‘on the road’ ambulance already installed and being used by trainees to practise for real-life conditions.
The new centre will also serve as a hub for paramedics already working with Ambulance Victoria to improve their skills, learn new techniques, and stay up to date with the latest in best practice.
VU chancellor Steve Bracks said the new centre will further ‘turbocharge’ VU’s joint training, research and real-world emergency simulations.
“We are excited to announce our co-investment for Australia’s first Centre of Excellence in Paramedicine, a unique place of learning that will support, encourage and generate a skilled and resilient workforce to meet the needs of our community,” he said.
The boost to the future paramedic workforce comes as the state government releases the latest health performance data which shows demand on Victorian paramedics remains high.
This quarter the number of Code 1 call outs rose by 3.4 per cent to a total of 99,833, making it the second busiest quarter in the history of Ambulance Victoria.
Despite this increased demand, the average Code 1 response time is now 14 minutes and 58 seconds down from 15 minutes and 12 seconds last quarter.
