Winchelsea’s first ambulance branch taking shape

With construction well underway on a new ambulance station located in the heart of Winchelsea, Surf Coast communities can soon look forward to even faster emergency response times.

Due for completion in late 2019, the Winchelsea ambulance station is the town’s first ever permanent paramedic facility. Located in Willis Street, the ambulance station will be a modern and fully equipped home base for seven full-time paramedics, featuring a drive in-and-out garage bay for vehicles, rest and recline areas, training rooms, modern amenities and a fully-fitted out kitchen.

With a permanent home for paramedics, emergency response times will continue to improve: Code 1 response times have already increased to 63.4 per cent arriving within 15 minutes, up from 58 per cent 12 months ago.

Funded through the Ambulance Victoria Capital Upgrades Project, the new Winchelsea ambulance station is part of a $526 million investment by the Victorian Government in the state’s ambulance system. It has delivered 450 paramedics and upgrades to existing branches or construction of new stations at 15 locations across the state, as well as putting an extra 23 vehicles on the road.

The 2018–19 Victorian State Budget included a record investment of $1.08 billion in health and ambulance services, designed to provide better, safer services for Victorians wherever they live.

To find out more about how the Victorian Government is working closely with Ambulance Victoria to modernise, rebuild and upgrade outdated ambulance stations visit the Ambulance Victoria Capital Upgrades Project page.