Ambulance response times improve across Wimmera

New data released this month shows a slight improvement in ambulance response times from January to March, but the health system was still buckling under pressure.

Paramedics were called to 92,413 code one cases - the most time-critical emergencies - in the January-March quarter and responded to 65.2 per cent within 15 minutes.

In the Grampians Region, performance against the 15-minute target improved in the West Wimmera, Moorabool, Ararat, Ballarat and Horsham Local Government Areas.

Mr Jenkins said along with reduced demand, a drop in staff furloughed due to COVID-19 at Ambulance Victoria and across the entire health system made a real difference.

"This helped speed up the handover of patients at hospitals and allowed to us get back on the road quicker to attend more life-threatening emergencies," he said.

Between January and March, nearly 54 Ambulance Victoria staff were furloughed daily due to COVID-19.

As a wave of COVID-19 eased, the number of staff furloughed decreased from a peak of 112 on January 5, 2023, to a low of 29 on February 21.

"However, now is not the time to be complacent. We know demand is already rising again and will continue to do so as we head towards winter," Mr Jenkins said.

"That's why I encourage all Victorians take care of themselves and keep regular check-ups with your GP or specialist and get your COVID-19 booster and annual flu shot."

The Victorian government has long blamed the COVID-19 pandemic for soaring healthcare services demand in the state.

Premier Daniel Andrews said there was still room for improvement and it would be a long journey to repair and rebuild the health system.

"COVID is not over from a hospital point of view," he said.

"The rest of us are getting about our lives and we have kind of normalised this, but we still have more than 300 patients that are in hospital. Some of them are very unwell and that still does put pressure and a burden on our staff."

The state government has spent billions on the health system during the pandemic, including a $26 million package to add 40 mobile intensive care paramedics across the state.

It has also spent $1.5 billion on a COVID-19 catch-up plan, paving the way for 46,548 patients to undergo surgical procedures in the past quarter.

Nonetheless, almost 79,000 Victorians were still on the elective surgery waiting list by the end of March.

The total waitlist has marginally dwindled over the past five quarters, but average overdue wait times have continued to rise for semi and non-urgent surgeries.

Mr Andrews said median treatment times "move around" occasionally while noting the government's commitment to grow the state's total surgeries from 200,000 to 240,000 annually.

"This is not a blitz," he said.

"This is not some one-off thing where we go and do a heap of extra surgery and then go back to a historical average ... and then have a churn affect and come back here in three years."

Opposition health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier used the figures to paint a different picture, saying they showed the health system remains in crisis.

"The government might spin all they like about these figures but they are still damning and very concerning," she said.