Another 64 new paramedics are starting work with Ambulance Victoria - including recruits sent to Ballarat, Ararat, Horsham, Daylesford and Bendigo.
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Six new staff will be shared this month between the Ballarat, Daylesford and Horsham stations.
Sites at Eaglehawk, Kyneton, Gisborne, Echuca and Irymple will also get one new paramedic each.
However the vast majority - 44 (68 per cent) - are being sent to just one region: metropolitan Melbourne.
"We saw 54 new recruits hit the road last month, and another 64 will join them later this month," a State Government spokesperson said.
"Almost half have taken up roles in regional branches - including Gippsland, Grampians, Hume and Loddon Mallee."
June recruits
The boost follows another 64 new faces who started with Ambulance Victoria in June.
Of those, one each went to Sebastopol, Daylesford, Ararat, Horsham, Eaglehawk, Kangaroo Flat, Kyneton and Woodend.
Statewide, the June and August intakes total 118 paramedics - with 73 (61 per cent) heading to stations in the Melbourne area.
The latest annual report showed the service recruited a record 716 new paramedics in 2021-22 and responded to 1,042,902 requests for help.
Surge in demand this winter
"Our paramedics are busier than ever," Ambulance Services Minister Gabrielle Williams said in a statement.
"That's why we're continuing to recruit more of them so they can continue to do what they do best - save lives.
"Victoria's paramedics have worked tirelessly through the peak winter period.
"They have faced a surge in demand with more than 1000 code one 'lights and sirens' ambulances dispatched across the state each and every day."
The definition of a code one emergency was tightened in 2017.
According to the latest AV annual report, in 2018-19 (before the pandemic) the service recorded its best annual response performance, with 83 per cent of code one cases responded to within 15 minutes.
"Increased demand, the prevalence of COVID, the impact of patients delaying care, and the furloughing of paramedic and hospital staff have all since contributed to our declining response performance," Chief Executive Tony Walker and Chair Ken Lay said in the report.
"The last nine months of 2021-2022 were the busiest in AV's history, with three consecutive quarters of record demand.
"While we know more needs to be done to meet our targets and community expectations, it is important to recognise that response times are only one measure of a quality ambulance service."
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Gabrielle Hodson
'All-rounder' journalist since 1993. I've worked in print, radio, TV & online as well as radio & TV producing and radio presenting. Working on Wadawurrung land. There are 7.9 billion stories out there. I'd love to hear yours...
'All-rounder' journalist since 1993. I've worked in print, radio, TV & online as well as radio & TV producing and radio presenting. Working on Wadawurrung land. There are 7.9 billion stories out there. I'd love to hear yours...
