Ambulance Victoria: Leading the Way in Placement Management Innovation with InPlace Network

Ambulance Victoria, one of Australia’s leading emergency healthcare providers, partnered with InPlace Network to transform their student placement management processes. Faced with the demands of an expanding paramedic education program and increasing student numbers, Ambulance Victoria (AV) identified the need for an automated, centralised solution to streamline operations, improve visibility, and better support the future workforce.

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1. The Student Placement Challenge

Ambulance Victoria’s previous placement process was highly manual, relying on spreadsheets and the expertise of its placement team to manage coordination across 450 ambulances and 3,600 crew members. This approach posed significant challenges:

• Time-Consuming Coordination: Coordinating placements required days of liaising with education providers.
• Limited Visibility: Tracking placements and assessing capacity were difficult, leading to errors and delays.
• Inefficiency: Making changes to placements was labour-intensive and increased the risk of mistakes.

“In our old system, we couldn’t track where students were or see our placement capacity clearly. Any changes were time-consuming, leaving us vulnerable to mistakes and delays.”
– Anna Simms, Ambulance Victoria

Ambulance Victoria’s Goals:

1. Expand placement capacity by reducing administrative workloads.
2. Improve visibility and tracking with real-time updates.
3. Strengthen partnerships with education providers and students through a centralised platform.
4. Support workforce development by tracking students from placement to employment.

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2. The InPlace Network Solution

To tackle these challenges, AV partnered with InPlace Network to implement a centralised, automated system tailored to their needs. Key features of the solution included:

• Automated Rostering & Smart Allocation: Effortlessly matched students to placements based on availability and requirements.
• Enhanced Educational Partnerships: Enabled real-time communication between AV, students, and education providers through a shared platform.
• Proactive Planning & Optimisation: Leveraged real-time data to reduce bottlenecks and enable better decision-making.
• Comprehensive Recruitment Support: Tracked student progress from placement to employment, ensuring workforce readiness.
• Ongoing Support: Provided continuous guidance for a smooth rollout and adoption of the system.

“Now, we can run detailed reports in seconds—reports that would have taken the placement team days to compile manually.”
– Anna Simms, Ambulance Victoria

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3. The Impact

The collaboration between Ambulance Victoria and InPlace Network has delivered transformative results:

Enhanced Efficiency and Capacity

• Administrative tasks that once took days now take minutes, freeing staff to focus on strategic priorities.
• Reduced workloads have enabled AV to accommodate more students, supporting the growth of paramedic education.

Improved Student Experience

• Real-time updates ensured accurate student placement information, minimising disruptions and improving preparedness.
• Streamlined cancellation handling maximised placement opportunities.

Data-Driven Decision-Making

• Comprehensive reports, generated in seconds, provide valuable insights for operational planning and reviews.

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4. Looking Ahead

Ambulance Victoria and InPlace Network are committed to continuous innovation, with several enhancements on the horizon:

• Automated Costing & Invoicing: Adding payment tracking and invoicing capabilities for improved financial transparency.
• Student Feedback Mechanisms: Introducing surveys to gather insights and enhance service delivery.
• Scalability & Integration: Preparing for integration with a new rostering system to ensure the platform remains adaptive.
• Strengthened Workforce Development: Leveraging centralised data to track students through to employment, creating a robust paramedic workforce pipeline.

“We’re excited to explore the new surveying functionality—it will give us invaluable insights into how our students and teams experience placements.” – Anna Simms, Ambulance Victoria.

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Success for Ambulance Victoria

By embracing automation and real-time data, Ambulance Victoria has achieved:

• Significant Efficiency Gains: Administrative tasks now take minutes, enabling staff to focus on impactful work.
• Expanded Capacity: Increased student placements, supporting the growth of paramedic education.
• Enhanced Decision-Making: Real-time reporting allows proactive planning and trend analysis.

Ready to Transform Your Placement Management?

Discover how InPlace Network can empower your organisation to streamline operations, enhance visibility, and prepare for a future-ready workforce. Book a Demo with us!