New Year’s Eve is consistently one of the busiest nights of the year for paramedics and this year was no exception. Ambulance Victoria says there was a three-hundred-per-cent increase in call outs in some parts of the state.
00:00Well, the Ambulance of Victoria have reported that this New Year's Eve was one of the busiest in recent years.
00:09With Melbourne being a tale of two cities, before midnight it was business as usual.
00:15Then after midnight, when the celebrations really kicked on, the workload increased.
00:21Now, when we're talking about that workload, we're talking about an increase of 300% in the Geelong and Barwon area.
00:29And 150% in Melbourne.
00:33At one point in Melbourne at the CBD, 80 incidences were recorded at one time.
00:40Paramedics were called out to a range of calls regarding assaults, stabbings, alcohol incidences and illnesses.
00:49As well as the use of illegal fireworks and injuries relating to that.
00:55Paramedics this morning spoke about those injuries and that they can be life-changing injuries.
01:03Now, also over the last couple of days, Ambulance Victoria have talked to us about the assaults and incidences that their paramedics are going through.
01:13That they are receiving while they are out doing their job.
01:17Reports of racial abuse, sexual abuse, physical abuse.
01:23We wondered this morning about what it was like for our paramedics out there on the busiest night of the year.
01:31Dr David Anderson was out there.
01:33He talks about what the paramedics here in Victoria faced last night.
01:38After midnight, we start to see a lot of incidents.
01:41It becomes very busy.
01:42We see a lot of public intoxication.
01:44And unfortunately, as we've described, a lot of violence.
01:46We were very well resourced, as were all the other services, but it did get very busy in that period between about midnight and 2am.
01:53So that was two incidents reported of assaults or distress from our paramedics in Victoria.
01:59And the message now as New Year's Day continues and summer rolls on is to stay safe.
02:06But also to keep in mind our Victorian paramedics are here to do a job and to do it to their best of ability.
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