Ambulance ramping figures continue to rise in August but down overall across winter, new data shows

Latest data shows ambulance ramping in Adelaide has soared in August but it’s been a better winter than last year.

Ambulance ramping rose again in August, new data shows, but the total number of hours lost this winter compared to last year was down almost 10 per cent.

Last month, ambulances spent 3,721 hours on the ramp at SA hospitals, up on 3354 hours recorded in July, 3105 in June and 2972 in May.

But the State Government said 1,084 fewer hours were lost to ramping this winter, with 10,180 hours recorded between June to August this year.

This compares to 11,264 hours lost during June and August 2022 – a drop of 9.6 per cent.

Ambulance response times are also on the improve, with paramedics reaching priority one cases 67.3 per cent within the recommended eight minutes this winter, compared to 52.2 per cent in the same period last year.

An ambulance at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. Picture: NCA NewsWire.

Priority two ambulance call-outs reached 57.7 per cent of cases within the recommended 16 minutes, compared to only 36.7 per cent last winter.

Health Minister Chris Picton said the improved ramping figures and ambulance response times compared to last winter shows the government’s “massive” investment is making a difference.

“The Malinauskas Labor Government is pulling every lever we can to fix the mess we inherited from the previous Liberal Government, which is why we are investing more than $4 billion extra into the health system,” he said.

“However, we know there’s still lots of work to be done and we’re getting on with the job.”

But Opposition health spokeswoman Ashton Hurn said the figures showed little signs of improvement and it was time the State Government delivered on their election promise to fix ramping.

“It doesn’t matter what the government is trying at the moment, it’s not turning the dial at all,” she said.

“At the election, they promised South Australians they had the plan to turn this around but on their watch … it’s never been worse.”

The new data comes as the government announced a new partnership between Northern Adelaide Local Health Network (NALHN) the ACH Group, which will create 24 new “step-down” beds in an Elizabeth residential care home.

The government said this will help transition medically-fit older patients out of the Lyell McEwin Hospital and Modbury Hospital, improve patient flow, and assist with ramping and response times.