By Bonny Burrows
After a long wait, Pakenham paramedics have finally moved into their new $1.1 million state-of-the-art station.
The new facility, seven years in the making, was officially opened by State Health Minister Jill Hennessy on 17 August.
Located on the same Main Street site the former station once stood, the new station’s development wasn’t without controversy, with Cardinia Shire and Ambulance Victoria butting heads on where the station should be built.
Ambulance Victoria’s January 2014 application to duplicate the 50-year-old Main Street site was refused by the council in April 2014 which argued that the location was “inappropriate for the growing town, and that increased commercial activity and congestion in the area would impact emergency response times.
However, the planning permit was escalated to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT), where an approval order was issued to the council in December 2014.
After some further hiccups relating to permits, construction at the Main Street site began in November 2015 with paramedics remaining on site during the works.
Ambulance Victoria’s Metropolitan East Regional Director Cath Anderson told the Gazette it was important the service remained in Pakenham’s CBD.
“It allowed us to stay within the main hub of Pakenham to give better response performance to get to community and patients as quick as we can,” Ms Anderson said.
The new branch is home to 34 paramedics from two 24-hour paramedic teams and features a training room, larger garage and larger amenities and rest areas.
Local paramedics couldn’t be happier with the facilities, according to Ambulance Victoria’s acting team manager of the Pakenham Branch, Paul Thompson.
“They love it, really love it,” Paul Thompson said.
“The old branch was quite separated from the garage but here, with the garage being so close to the living areas, there’s a much quicker response moving to a job.”
His colleague, Ambulance Victoria’s Pakenham Branch team manager Simon Thompson said it was the little changes that made all the difference.
“Before just from walking into garage from the house you’d get drenched so you’d get to a job already soaked, now we can stay dry,” Simon Thompson said.
A larger kitchen area for cooking and dining and a new lounge suite has also proved popular with paramedics who stressed the importance of being able to relax in a comfortable environment post-job.
Minister for Ambulance Services Jill Hennessy said the right facilities went a long way in assisting paramedics to serve the community.
“We’ve been working really hard to try and ensure we’re building a culture and an attitude that is about supporting our paramedics,” Ms Hennessy said.
“In a medical emergency, every second counts. Pakenham families can have peace of mind that paramedics are now responding even faster.”
