New ambulances and dozens more paramedics to start by end of year
Ramping is still high but shows a downward trend as more new paramedics and ambulances are set to hit the road by the end of the year. See where they’ll be stationed.
SA News
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Three new ambulances and 44 extra paramedics will hit the road before the end of the year as the state government works to fulfil its pledge to “fix ramping”.
Later this month, 16 paramedics will commence roles at Marion with a new 24/7 ambulance and another 16 also with a new ambulance station at Edwardstown.
The Edwardstown crew will be temporarily based out of Marion before a new Edwardstown station is built.
A Gawler crew of 12 paramedics will start before the end of the year as one of nine new 12-paramedic country crews to boost ambulance coverage across regional South Australia.
It will mean by the end of the year there will be five more ambulances on the road 24/7 since the March election, with a 16-paramedic crew added to Norwood, 12 ambulance officer emergency support service crew also at Norwood, plus 10 extra triple-0 dispatchers who commenced in June.
The new ambulances and crews are part of the state government's $124m investment for 350 more paramedics and ambulance officers.
It comes as ramping has soared to record levels since the election, although latest figures show a downward trend.
Ramping in October was 3330 hours, down 6.6 per cent from September and 13.2 per cent from the June high. This is the lowest ramping figure since April.
The SA Ambulance Service (SAAS) says strong progress is being made in delivering the vehicles for the new crews, following the biggest ambulance fleet order on record made in June.
A $36.9m pledge will replace 184 existing ambulances set to reach their end of life while 36 new extra ambulances will be provided to support additional crews.
Nearly 100 replacement vehicles and the 36 new ambulances are expected to be rolled out by mid-next year, all reconfigured and fitted out using the latest technology.
Health Minister Chris Picton said the government was keeping it commitments to giving SAAS the resources it needs.
“Our ambos report that even on days when ramping is low, there are still not enough ambulances to cope with demand and respond on time,” he said.
“These new crews will help South Australians to get help in an emergency when they need it.
“South Australians can see first-hand how our plan will be rolled out to improve ambulance coverage, cut down response times and provide better care to patients.
“We are also taking other steps to reduce pressure on ambos, including opening up every possible hospital bed and building more beds and hiring more hospital staff.”
SAAS chief executive Rob Elliott said: “We are making good progress, with the recruitment of the first of the additional ambulance crews and triple-0 Emergency Operations Centre staff complete, as well as early land acquisition in Norwood and Victor Harbor.
“These commitments offer SAAS the opportunity to enhance services and enable our crews to do what they do best, which is delivering outstanding care to the South Australian community.”
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