Who we are

ARV is managed by Ambulance Victoria (AV) with the assistance of key service partners.

The medical director (Dr Marcus Kennedy) 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 doctors who accompany a patient from the source hospital to the destination hospital. These doctors are mostly emergency specialists, although intensive care physicians 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 form an integral component of Victoria's retrieval system. They are involved in the majority of retrieval cases. A retrieval team will be composed of medical and/or paramedic staff working as one crew to meet the clinical needs of each patient.