Andrews apologises after damning report into Victoria's emergency services

The Victorian Premier has apologised to the families of those who died waiting for ambulances after a damning report into the triple-zero call system was published.

The report linked triple-zero and ambulance delays to 33 Victorian deaths during the pandemic.

Daniel Andrews said the surge in triple-zero calls during the pandemic was "more intense than a bushfire event" when he spoke today for the first time since the report's release over the weekend.

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"I offer my deepest condolences, sympathies and my personal apology, and the apology of the government more broadly, to anyone who has been touched by this virus and particularly those who have lost a loved one," he said.

Saturday's report reviewed the Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority (ESTA) and the state's emergency service preparedness for a pandemic.

It identified the "missed opportunities and failings" of the service.

Long wait times for triple-zero calls to be answered or ambulance to be dispatched were reported to be an issue as the state's health system bucked under the pressure of the pandemic.

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Ambulance call activity increased by more than 53,000 calls between 2020 and 2021, or a rate of 6.4 per cent.

It then increased by 12 per cent in 2021 to 2022 by more than 106,000 calls.

Andrews described the surge in triple-zero call as a "unique and very, very challenging set of circumstances".

"This system, and many other systems in health and in other parts of our economy and our community and indeed across our nation and our world were overwhelmed," he said.

The state government has accepted all eight recommendations from the report.