Ice incidents rise across state

According to a Turning Point and Ambulance Victoria report released last week, ice-related attendances shot up from 77 in 2011-12 to 231 in 2012-13 in regional Victoria.

While there were no specific statistics for Swan Hill local government area, nearby regions of Mildura and Campaspe both saw four per cent increases.

Ambulance Victoria Loddon Mallee acting regional manager Kerry Power said increasing drug and alcohol use was having a significant impact on the workload of paramedics.

"Dealing with patient effected by amphetamines can be very challenging and time consuming for paramedics, police and emergency departments who are trying to help," she said.

"People affected by amphetamines, including crystal methamphetamine, can become aggressive and the drug exacerbates some people's mental health conditions."

The report also showed there were 1000 more alcohol related attendances — a 42 per cent increase — in regional Victoria in the past two years.

"While the figures show that the incidence of ambulance attendance for amphetamines continues to rise, we highlight that alcohol remains the biggest single cause of substance abuse call-outs for ambulance," Ms Power said.

"On average we are called to more than 10 cases of alcohol abuse a day in regional Victoria.

"Amphetamine overdoses account for an average of less than one overdose a day across regional Victoria."