23 Aug 2017 Benalla Ensign, Benalla VIC (General News) Ambulance response times in Benalla have improved in the past 12 months in spite of record demand. More than 69 per cent of ambulances are now attending incidents within 15 minutes of the initial call to emergency services. This is a vast improvement on this time last year when only 59 per cent arrived within that time frame. Labor Upper House Member for Northern Victoria Jaclyn Symes last week released the figures which highlight ambulance and hospital performance. The data shows that the average response time for an ambulance to reach the scene of a code one emergency in the Benalla region has improved from 16 minutes and 59 seconds to 14 minutes and three seconds. Labor is making sure more Benalla residents get the care they need faster, Ms Symes said. Our ambulance and health services are on the frontline giving patients the first-class care they need and deserve, when they need it. Benalla paramedics are getting to patients faster, when only minutes stand between life or death for some of our patients. Improved performance across the state is a result of reforms over the past 18 months which include an investment by the Victorian Government of $500 million directly aimed at reducing ambulance response times. That investment has been used to employ 450 new paramedics, purchase new vehicles and to build more ambulance stations across the state. Caption Text: Working hard: Paramedics attend a car crash. Licensed by Copyright Agency. You may only copy or communicate this work with a licence.