STAFF WRITERS
THE largest-ever intake into Ambulance Victoria’s Mobile Intensive Care Ambulance (MICA) Bridging Program has hit the road.
New MICAs are delivering more specialised, lifesaving care to Victorians when they need it most.
Minister for Ambulance Services, Mary-Anne Thomas visited the Ambulance Victoria Capability Hub at Victoria University in Sunshine to meet the 30 interns who will join Victoria’s 586-strong MICA team, including in Morwell, Geelong, and Ballarat.
The group started their six-week training course in January and will be joined on the road by a further 24 MICA interns later this year.
To be eligible to undertake the bridging program and become a MICA Paramedic, participants must be qualified for at least two years as an Advanced Life Support Paramedic.
The six-week course covers clinical responses to respiratory, cardiac, paediatric, and obstetrics incidents, as well as sessions with specialists on welfare, wellbeing, pharmacy, and leadership.
Once theoretical training is complete, the MICA interns begin 18 months of practical on road training, which is undertaken across the state.
Fully trained MICA paramedics can work solo or in pairs, managing complex cases with advanced procedures such as airway management, head and chest trauma care, and cardiac emergencies. They can also administer medications into bone and fluids in paediatric patients – providing immediate treatment that can help save lives.
The state government has invested more than $2 billion into ambulance services – recruiting more than 2200 additional paramedics, delivering 41 new or upgraded ambulance stations and is establishing a new centre for paramedicine in partnership with Victoria University.
A further $146 million from the Victorian Budget 2024/25 is supporting services like the Secondary Triage Service and Medium Acuity Transport Services, freeing up paramedics so they are available to respond to the most time-critical patients.
These investments are as important as ever, with the latest quarterly performance data revealing Victoria’s hardworking paramedics continue to face record demand, responding to nearly 100,000 Code 1 cases this quarter.
