Residents in Western Victoria suffering from cardiac arrest will benefit from a multi-million dollar roll-out of new life-saving equipment in country ambulances.
Gayle Tierney, member for Western Victoria announced today that local ambulance services in Western Victoria are now fitted with the latest state-of-the-art defibrillators.
Ms Tierney said the new defibrillators will benefit paramedics and patients with improved technology and a more rapid delivery of a shock in the event of a cardiac arrest.
“The new defibrillators also have clearer and more detailed on-screen information and improved ability to view cardiac electrical activity,” she said.
“Additional functions can also be built into the new defibrillators such as blood pressure monitoring, tools to measure carbon dioxide and oxygen in the blood and additional electrocardiograph capacity to diagnose a heart attack.”
The new high-tech Phillips MRX cardiac monitor defibrillators, costing $11,000 per unit, replace the older model defibrillators that had been in use for the past nine years.
Health Minister Daniel Andrews said the Brumby Government was taking action to deliver the highest-quality ambulance services to communities across Victoria.
“This Government has allocated $3.38 million so 300 new defibrillators could be installed in rural ambulances and frontline vehicles” Mr Andrews said.
“This investment comes on top of the biggest boost to ambulance services in Victoria’s history, a $186 million investment including two new medical helicopters and 59 new and upgraded services that will be rolled out across 48 towns and suburbs across Victoria” he said.
Ms Tierney said the Brumby Government was continuing its commitment to expand and upgrade ambulance services for all Victorians.
Western Victorian has already had significant investment in ambulance services including:
– An emergency helicopter for the South West
– The addition of paramedics to work with Ambulance Community Officers in Anglesea, Apollo Bay and Timboon
– A new paramedic crew in Colac
– Community Emergency Response Teams in Lavers Hill, Port Campbell, Nullawarre, Hawkesdale, Meredith and Dereel
“The Brumby Government understands how important ambulance services are to Victorians, and that is why we are delivering record funding and why we have reformed ambulance services to put patients first.”
