Who we are

ARV is run by the Metropolitan Ambulance Service (MAS) with the assistance of key service partners. The service is headed by an experienced medical director.

The medical director oversees a team of doctors who work as critical care coordinators and retrieval specialists.

Critical care coordinators provide clinical advice by telephone about critically ill patients, and liaise with major Victorian hospitals on the availability of critical care beds.

Retrieval specialists are experienced on-call doctors who accompany a patient from the source hospital to the destination hospital. These doctors are mostly emergency specialists, although intensive care physcians and anaesthetists also perform the role. Rural retrieval specialists based at Geelong, Bendigo and Ballarat are available part time to support service delivery.

MICA paramedics conduct adult retrievals where clinically appropriate. Air Ambulance Victoria (AAV) (managed by MAS) and Rural Ambulance Victoria are also key service providers.

The Future