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First ever Paramedic Practitioners Bill 2024 to boost urgent care and alleviate hospital pressure across Victoria

The Paramedic Practitioners Bill 2024, introduced by the Allan Labor government, will empower paramedics to deliver expanded urgent care, reduce hospital pressures, and enhance patient access across Victoria.

By news@gippsland - 15th November 2024 - Back to News

Australia's first ever Paramedic Practitioners are one step closer to hitting the road, with the Allan Labor government introducing a Bill into the Victorian Parliament to enshrine the role into law. Premier Jacinta Allan and Minister for Ambulance Services Mary-Anne Thomas joined paramedics to announce that the Paramedic Practitioners Bill 2024 will allow qualified paramedics to deliver a higher level of care to patients when and where they need it.

The 2023/24 Victorian Budget invested $20 million in Paramedic Practitioner roles, funding degrees for experienced paramedics, with $2 billion since 2014 boosting staff, stations, and training

Advanced paramedic care

The new specialised role will give graduates an expanded role - allowing them to independently deliver urgent care to reduce pressure on Victoria's busy ambulance services and emergency departments. Under the expanded role, Paramedic Practitioners will be able to assess, diagnose and treat many conditions locally without the need to transfer patients to hospital.

The biggest change will see Paramedic Practitioners able to handle and administer scheduled medicines, so they can prescribe and supply medicines on the spot to Victorians. The first cohort of 30 paramedics are currently undertaking the nation-leading Paramedic Practitioner master's degree at Monash University - with a second cohort set to begin the course next year.

Developed alongside Ambulance Victoria, Safer Care Victoria, paramedics, clinicians, and unions, the first 30 students will be deployed to regional Victoria in 2026. Once graduated, they'll be able to treat conditions that commonly see people visit a hospital - including urinary catheter care, wound care and closure, minor infections, dislocations, and fractures.

Investing in paramedics

The Victorian Budget 2023/24 invested $20 million to establish the role of Paramedic Practitioner, including delivering the new degree at no cost to eligible paramedics who have more than five years' experience. Since 2014, the Labor government has invested more than $2 billion into ambulance services - recruiting more than 2,200 additional paramedics, delivering 41 new or upgraded ambulance stations and establishing a new Centre for Paramedicine in partnership with Victoria University.

The government is also supporting the training of 40 additional Mobile Intensive Care Ambulance (MICA) paramedics with AV welcoming their largest cohort of MICA trainees in history. These investments are as important as ever, with the latest quarterly data revealing Victoria's hardworking paramedics continue to face high demand, attending close to 100,000 Code 1 call outs.

Paramedics revolutionised care

Premier Jacinta Allan said, "This is a big deal: the first paramedics in Australia who can deliver advanced on-the-spot care and prescribe medicines - saving many Victorians a trip to hospital."

Minister for Ambulance Services Mary-Anne Thomas said, "We listened to our workforce who told us Australia's first Paramedic Practitioners will make a huge difference - they'll have advanced skills that will help people right across regional Victoria."

Member for Eastern Victoria Harriet Shing said, "We created the free Paramedic Practitioners master's degree because we know how important it is to give regional Victorians the care they need and help to reduce demand on our busy hospital EDs."

Pictures from Ambulance Victoria Instagram page.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com