Photo: theherald.com.au

Minister for Ambulance Services Jill Hennessy today celebrated the historic anniversary and met Victoria’s pioneering first female paramedics in operational roles.

On 27 July 1987, Andrea Wyatt became one of Victoria’s first two female paramedics in metropolitan Melbourne. Soon after, Melissa Buckingham was the first and only female paramedic in rural Victoria.  Georgie Hall became the fourth female paramedic in 1988.

Andrea continued to break new ground, becoming the first qualified MICA female paramedic in 1993 and the first female Clinical Support Officer in 1995.

Thirty years later, the paramedic workforce is changing rapidly. Ambulance Victoria is a leader in the traditionally male-dominated emergency services sector, with women now making up 47 per cent of Ambulance Victoria staff.

And this number is increasing significantly with females today making up about 57 per cent of graduate paramedic applicants.

Women also fill key leadership roles such as MICA paramedics, team and group managers, and in corporate management.

The Andrews Labor Government promotes diversity, inclusion and flexibility in the workplace, this includes supporting more women to take on leadership roles within our highly-skilled ambulance workforce.

The Labor Government has been working hard to improve the health, safety and wellbeing of our paramedics.

Our $60 million Response Time Rescue Fund is supporting more than 52,000 hours of additional paramedic training focussed on improving mental health and well-being and reducing occupational violence.