Chaos at Melbourne hospitals as more than 130 ambulances line up outside

Chaos is unfolding outside Victorian hospitals, with more than 130 ambulances waiting outside with nowhere to go.

Only 12 per cent of ambulances available in the state are available to respond to a medical emergency. 

The rest are either treating a patient or stuck outside waiting to transfer their patient into a hospital.

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At its peak today, 167 ambulances were forced to wait outside their emergency departments to transfer their patients to emergency departments. 

The worst hospitals were Northern Hospital in Epping and Box Hill Hospital.

It's an ongoing issue in Victoria. 

It was particularly bad in Bendigo Hospital last night, with no paramedics to treat patients between Melbourne and Mildura because paramedics were treating a patient waiting on a chair in a hallway. 

Danny Hill from the Victorian Ambulance Union called for action.

"There's a lot of people out there who might not get an ambulance when they desperately need it," Hill said.

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"There's not enough being done by the government to make sure they're prioritising ambulance offload and are back out in the community treating people. 

"They shouldn't be ramped at a hospital for hours at a time."

The advice is if it's not an emergency, do not call 000.

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