More graduate paramedics are headed to Western Victoria in a boost for community care for the region

Three started in early 2021 and three more are due to start in April.

To help Ambulance Victoria respond to an increased and changing demand, 700 paramedics have been recruited over the past which is Ambulance Victoria's single largest annual recruitment ever.

Ambulance Victoria Grampians acting regional director Tim Maywald said two of the new recruits would be Horsham based.

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"Statewide we've had significant influx of new graduate ambulance paramedics into the Grampians," he said.

To help the increased demand of paramedics, some core branches of Ambulance Victoria have been earmarked to develop into 24 hour stations, but Mr Maywald said obtaining staff was the focus.

"The crux of getting more paramedics is "getting bums on seats," Mr Maywald said.

"We've had to look at how we resource all of our ambulances.

"We've had paramedics who have got COVID and need to furlough, having those extra paramedics certainly helps us with that.

"We need to put bums in seats, so to speak, we need to have paramedics who can come down and fill those shoes and make sure that we can continue to provide that service. So every one of those paramedics helps us with that."

Newly recruited paramedics have at least a year of mentoring, Mr Maywald explained.

"We have clinical instructors who sit alongside them, especially during the first 12 months. And then during the next 12 months, we try to roster them with experienced paramedics," he said.

"It's a challenge for us to make sure that we've got enough clinical instructors. We make sure we keep our workforce mix right so we can ensure that students are getting the training that they need."

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Mr Maywald said making sure paramedics remained as fresh as possible was vital to give the care the community needed.

"We're very mindful of fatigue and doing work to make sure our staff isn't burnt out," he said.

"The first thing I think about is the health safety and wellbeing of my staff, because without them we can't do the job that we do and respond to the community.

"I'm extremely proud of my staff."

Ambulance Victoria chief executive officer Professor Walker said the State Government's $759 million investment in Ambulance Victoria in the 2021-22 Budget was continuing to ease the pressure on frontline healthcare workers and deliver ongoing operational improvements across the state.

"We also welcome the extra $35 million that allow us to continue our vital surge workforce and fast track the recruitment of another 120 paramedics," Professor Walker said.

"This will make a real difference to our dedicated paramedics and first responders who are working extremely hard, relieving some of the strain from record demand as the pandemic continues."

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