Damning Report Into Victoria's Plagued Triple-0 Finds Service More Like A Call Centre

Victoria's crisis-plagued emergency system has been dealt another scathing blow.

An independent investigation by the emergency services watchdog has found at least 33 people died after delays with Victoria's triple-0 call-taking system.

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The damning report released on Saturday found “unacceptable” delays for triple-0 ambulance calls during the height of the pandemic between December 1, 2020 and May 31, 2022.

Triple-0 calls nearly doubled - averaging 2,200 a day before the pandemic to almost 4,000 at the peak of the state's Omicron wave.

The Inspector-General for Emergency Management found the Emergency Services and Telecommunications Authority (ESTA) was underfunded, but despite a spike in calls during Covid, demand alone was not responsible for blow-outs in waiting times.

The report highlighted that the triple-0 service struggled with staffing in October and could not “field enough call-takers to meet the increased call activity”, but by January this year, 61 per cent of calls were not being answered within time (5 seconds).

“The range of concerns were considerable and generally stem from a view that ESTA does not move to ­address issues with sufficient speed … and that communication with ESTA was difficult and often ineffective,”  the report states.

In May, the Victorian government stepped in and announced that due to triple-0's ongoing issues, ESTA would be renamed and its board disbanded.

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