After Melbourne’s ambulance services were compelled to issue a “code red” on Tuesday morning, Dan Andrews has come under fire.
Ambulances could not be dispatched to aid the ill and injured due to a severe staff shortage.
The Victorian Premier shifted responsibility for the current health system crisis confronting the state on Tuesday, claiming that a decline in skilled migrants and the flu were to blame for the crushing labor shortage that followed the Covid outbreak.
The Victorian Premier on Tuesday palmed off blame for the ongoing health system crisis facing the state, insisting the crippling workforce shortage on the heels of the Covid pandemic is due to a downturn in skilled migrants and the flu.
Just after midnight, the metropolitan area received an emergency alert, which lasted until 4am.
According to reports, Ambulance Victoria implemented the code-red warning because of “low fleet availability.”
Danny Hill, general secretary of the Victorian Ambulance Union, said the shocking outcome demonstrated the system was under “enormous strain,” and he cautioned that the demand wouldn’t abate any time soon.
No ambulances were available to react to an emergency at that specific moment last night for the whole population of Melbourne, no matter how brief that time period was, according to Mr. Hill, who spoke to The Herald Sun.
‘Paramedics are just so burnt out,’ he added.
According to reports, Ambulance Victoria implemented the code-red warning because of “low fleet availability.”
Danny Hill, general secretary of the Victorian Ambulance Union, said the shocking outcome demonstrated the system was under “enormous strain,” and he cautioned that the demand wouldn’t abate any time soon.
‘There’s nothing scarier than the truth, which is that for Melbourne’s entire population at one-point last night…no matter how short that time frame was…no ambulances were available to respond to an emergency at that particular point in time,’ Mr Hill told The Herald Sun.
‘Paramedics are just so burnt out,’ he added.
Mr. Andrews claims that Australia’s sluggish skilled migration has been one of the issues harming Victoria’s healthcare system over the past several years.
He believes that clearing the backlog of qualified immigrants who are awaiting admission to the country will be the answer to the regional health staffing issue.
At the Commonwealth’s first national cabinet meeting under Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on June 17, the Commonwealth agreed to Mr. Andrews’ request for increased resources to handle the “tens of thousands” of visa applications.
‘At my urging, he’s (Anthony Albanese) put…extra staff on to move through that backlog,’ Mr Andrews said .