An Ambulance Victoria spokesman said a man in his 40s appeared to suffer a medical episode before collapsing and hitting his head on the embankment of a river at Woodford.

He said paramedics were called to the scene at 4.20pm on Saturday.

"The man was transported to Warrnambool Base Hospital by ambulance in a serious but stable condition," the spokesman said.

Warrnambool's Country Fire Authority station officer Brent Freeman said CFA and SES extracted the man from the embankment.

"We had seven (firefighters) from Warrnambool attend and we worked with volunteers from the Woodford Fire Brigade," he said.

"The patient needed to be transported from the river bank up to the top where the ambulance was waiting for him.

"We were able to get him out with the use of a spine board and stretcher. We weren't able to use the stairs because of how thin they were, so we took him up the bank which was next to the stairs, using the steep angle rope system."

The rescue operation lasted about 40 minutes.

Mr Freeman said it was a multi-agency effort.

"Everybody contributed to ensure that the patient was safely rescued," he said.

Two SES rescue trucks and eight crew members aided paramedics with the packaging and movement of the man at bottom of the embankment.

SES Commander Stephen Bakker said "SES volunteers, paramedics and fire fighters worked very well together to safely and promptly convey the casualty from his undesirable location up to the waiting ambulance".

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