The Victorian Ombudsman has referred Ambulance Victoria’s Code Red reporting in the lead up to the November 2022 state election to the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC).
Ambulance Victoria figures have confirmed that following more than 1,250 emergency calls for help on the 2nd December 2022, an emergency Code Red was called by Ambulance Victoria.
However, in the month leading up to the November 2022 State Election, Ambulance Victoria experienced more than 1,200 emergency calls daily over 11 consecutive days – yet not a single Code Red was called.
During this period, Victoria’s health system remained under considerable pressure, with regular ambulance ramping at hospitals and extended wait times in emergency departments.
Code Reds are called during periods when Ambulance Victoria is unable to respond to all emergency cases, with patients asked to make their own way to emergency departments for treatment and care and off-duty staff are called in to work.
The inconsistency in the calling of Code Reds across the 2022 election period was referred by the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council, Georgie Crozier, to the Victorian Ombudsman, who following an initial assessment, has confirmed the matter has been referred to IBAC.
Shadow Minister for Ambulance Services, Georgie Crozier, said these are deeply troubling revelations that go to the heart of the lack of integrity under the Andrews Government.
“Vital health data must always be accurate and never used for political gains,” Ms Crozier said.
“Victorians deserve to know if ambulance emergencies were deliberately covered up in the weeks prior to the state election.
“The decision to call emergency code reds in our ambulance service must never be influenced by anything other than the needs of the system and health outcomes of patients.”
