East Gippsland now has 24-hour critical care in its hands.
Local ambulance services in the region will benefit from a significant expansion to lifesaving services – ensuring locals get the critical care they need, faster, with Minister for Ambulance Services Mary-Anne Thomas announcing Bairnsdale’s Mobile Intensive Care Ambulance (MICA) Single Responder Unit (SRU) will expand to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week – increasing around-the-clock coverage in the region by 12 hours.
The upgrade will also see three additional highly skilled MICA paramedics join the Bairnsdale team, based out of the newly renovated Bairnsdale Ambulance Branch.
“Record demand calls for record investment, and we’re backing in our paramedics with funding for bigger and better facilities so they can keep doing what they do best – saving lives,” Minister Thomas said.
“This community is growing and this ambulance upgrade will help to ensure families in Gippsland have access to the emergency care they need, close to home,” State Member for Eastern Victoria Tom McIntosh said.
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.
This announcement follows the largest ever intake into Ambulance Victoria’s MICA Bridging Program who hit the road in March 2025, now delivering more specialised, lifesaving care to Victorians when they need it most.
