Paramedic farewells AV after “life-changing” rural move

Dimboola team manager Frank Mendes has completed his final shift as a paramedic, after four of the best years of his career on the edge of the desert in Victoria’s west.

Frank started out his ambulance career 24 years ago in Gippsland, first in Traralgon and Morwell, then Bass Coast and Phillip Island.

Knowing he was nearing retirement, he decided he wanted a change.

“I wanted a different challenge in a completely different part of Victoria,” Frank said.

“I applied for a month-long position as a paramedic in Dimboola and that changed me. It changed my entire outlook on how I was going to spend my final years as a paramedic.”

Frank returned to Phillip Island after that month and immediately began applying to make the move permanent.

“There was a vacancy for a full-time paramedic in Dimboola. I talked to my family and just decided to do it because I’d loved it the first time. It just got better from there. Each month and each year became better and better.”

In the remote town of Dimboola, Frank worked alongside a team of Ambulance Community Officers (ACOs) – ordinary members of the community who step up in an extraordinary way.

ACOs are Ambulance Victoria (AV) first responders employed on a casual basis to work on-call in rural and remote communities. They don't require prior medical knowledge but receive clinical training and manual handling techniques at regular AV education sessions.

“We’ve got an ACO who is the local historian, one who was a park ranger for the desert, one who drives an interstate train and is an ACO in his time off. We’ve got a team of nine ACOs at Dimboola,” Frank said.

“The highlight for me is working with them, particularly out in remote regions. Sometimes we drive more than an hour into desert or farmland to work with really sick patients in a remote setting where there’s very minimal back-up.

“I absolutely relished that kind of challenge, working in those remote areas with the ACOs, making clinical decisions and trying to secure a good outcome.

“It’s been life-changing and my favourite time of my career.”

Frank grew up in Melbourne but always wanted to move out of the city, so landing a job with Rural Ambulance Victoria in 2001 was the perfect opportunity.

But his journey to become a paramedic had begun several years prior, helping to save the life of his best mate after a trailbike crash.

“I gave him mouth-to-mouth to resuscitate him because he’d stopped breathing,” Frank said.

“When the paramedics came, I was amazed at how calm and knowledgeable they were and so careful with my mate. It stunned me that people could be so competent and calm when faced with someone who was near death.

“From then on, I sought out jobs to make myself ready to get into the ambulance service.”

Frank was placed in the Gippsland region, where he worked his way up from paramedic to a clinical instructor.

In 2018, he had his greatest achievement, named Gippsland Clinical Instructor of the Year.

Two years after his move to Dimboola, he became team manager of both the Dimboola and Nhill ambulance branches.

“I owe my enjoyment of my time here in Dimboola and Nhill to the ACOs – that’s what has made it for me,” Frank said.

“They play such a massive role. We couldn’t do what we do without them.

“They work tirelessly and never complain, they just get the job done. It might be in the middle of the night, it might be after 12 hours, they might be hungry, but they just get the job done for their community.”

Frank had his final AV shift on 12 October and Horsham, Hindmarsh and West Wimmera senior team manager Anthony Dunn said he will be missed.

“Frank’s dedication to the Dimboola and Nhill communities has been exceptional,” Anthony said.

“His leadership and passion for supporting our ACOs has made a lasting impact, helping to build strong and committed teams across both branches.

“He leaves AV with the respect of everyone who has had the pleasure of working with him, and we wish Frank all the best for his retirement adventures to come.”