The response times for ambulances in Tasmania continue to spiral further out of control, with the latest HealthStats revealing a distressing new milestone. For the first time ever, Tasmania’s ‘median emergency response time’ for an ambulance has reached fifteen minutes.
For a state with the worst ambulance response times in the country, seeing this measure move further in the wrong direction is devastating.
These figures are another shocking demonstration of the real-life impact of ambulance ramping. Ambulances are stuck parked at hospitals every day, instead of driving to respond to emergency calls for help.
The Liberal Government announced a handful of procedural changes to try and deal with ramping. These are welcome, but unfortunately they won’t be enough to make a meaningful difference.
The Government’s own figures show ramping continues to worsen year on year. We need to see Premier Jeremy Rockliff put his foot down and make this a priority issue, with the increased resourcing required to make a difference.
Tasmania needs a big funding boost for health staff, and more new ambulances immediately. The Government also needs to prioritise the long-delayed projects that will increase hospital capacity.
Without ambitious immediate action from government, it’s inevitable more Tasmanian lives will be put at risk from ambulance ramping.
