Govt to spend $36.9m on 36 new ambulances to help alleviate ramping crisis

The state government will spend $36.9m on dozens of new ambulances – the largest such order SA has ever seen – in a bid to address the ramping crisis.

The state government has vowed to buy 36 new ambulances to help ease the ramping crisis, and replaced another 184.

Celebrating 100 days of government on Wednesday Premier Peter Malinauskas said the $36.9m investment would go a long way in supporting SA paramedics.

Mr Malinauskas said the funding would put 36 new Mercedes Benz VS30 Sprinter ambulances on the streets while 184 existing vehicles – set to reach the end of their life – will be replaced.

“This is the biggest order of a new ambulance fleet that South Australia has ever seen and will contribute to our hard-working ambos delivering life-saving patient outcomes,” he said.

Of the 36 new vehicles, 19 would go to metropolitan areas while 17 would be rolled out across the regions.

The state government funded five new state-of-the-art ambulance stations in the state budget, including a new state health-control headquarters. Another four stations will be completely rebuilt, and 10 will be upgraded.

SA Ambulance Service operations manager Bryan Ward with ambulance officer Nikki Toner at the Parkside Ambulance Station. Picture NCA NewsWire / Emma Brasier

Norwood, Mount Barker, and Gawler will be among the first crews to receive new Mercedes Benz ambulances.

Health Minister Chris Picton said the $36.9m investment and Labor’s commitment of 350 more ambos over four years would help address the ramping crisis.

The state government said the SA Ambulance Service would have 99 new ambos mid next year, with the first additional 16 paramedics expected to start next month in Parkside before moving to the Norwood station.

SA Ambulance Service operations manager Bryan Ward said the organisation was “very excited about the announcements” by the government.

“We’re obviously busy out there in the community at the moment,” he said.

“With the government’s commitment to not only the ambulance service but also SA Health as a whole, we’re hoping to see some real good tangible changes in the delays that are occurring.”

It comes after a grandmother and cancer patient was forced to wait almost three hours for an ambulance on a freezing footpath with fractured bones, and SA Health was accused of faking ramping figures by moving patients inside, rather than having them waitin in ambulances.

On Monday, the RAH’s emergency department hit a record number of patients unable to leave the ED because there were no available hospital beds – breaking a record it had set just the Monday before.

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