On the 6th of August 2022 a Mildura netballer lay on the cold netball court for over 2 hours with a compound fracture of her lower leg. The subsequent 000 call was triaged and sent to referral then back to emerg for a Code 2 response. An ambulance was then dispatched from Ouyen to attend the case. 1hr 15 mins away.
Last week A/RD for Loddon Mallee Trevor Weston was interviewed on ABC radio about the delay and his responses provide further evidence of an immature organisation that is more worried about the brand and political spin then the community it provides a service to. You can listen to a clip of his interview here.
Some examples of the spin by Weston include:
| Spin | Reality |
| 3rd consecutive quarter of record case numbers and record Code 1’s. | Not in Mildura. Case numbers dropped in the last quarter for Code 1’s and 2’s.
Weston referring to state results. Not relevant for Mildura. |
| Record workloads. | Every year we see record workloads and this has been the case for many years. Demand increases occur naturally as a result of increased population and the ageing population. It is AV’s responsibility to be prepared for this. Not use it as an excuse for underperformance. |
| 3% decline in performance despite 5% increase in workload. | Using numbers to deflect from reality. Performance dropped by 3.7%, demand increased by 4.8%. Not as rosy as he depicts.
Demand increases are the reality so what percentage drop in performance is acceptable before resources are increased. |
| Other areas of region attended serious cases within exceptionally quick time frame. | This is irrelevant for Mildura and provides no reassurance to the broader Mildura community. |
| “…. the most appropriate ambulance was dispatched within the appropriate time.” | But it was sent from 1hr 15mins away. Using data that suits AV to mislead the community. |
AV Managers who speak in the media need to stop acting like politicians and take some responsibility for when AV fails to meet community expectations. Not use vague, misleading or manipulated figures to make things look better than they are.
This approach to the community is a legacy of an executive that has been more focused on KPI’s than the service provided and individuals who created an environment where honesty about performance was career ending.
The Victorian government needs to be prepared to see what is really going on behind the curtain and needs to look at indicators that tell the whole story. Time for a review of the criteria AV reports on. The Victorian public deserves that.
