The state budget is set to pour $58m into three new ambulance stations, electronic patient care and hospital avoidance teams

SA Ambulance Service is again set to emerge as a winner in the state budget with more money poured into upgrades. See what the cash will be spent on.

More money will be poured into the SA Ambulance Service in Thursday’s state budget as the government continues to grapple with record ramping.

SAAS will get another $58m for three new ambulance stations, an electronic patient care record system and to expand a hospital avoidance team in moves chief executive Rob Elliott said would all lead to improved patient care.

SAAS is set to receive $58m in the state budget on Thursday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Mariuz

This comes on top of existing commitments including recruitment of an additional 219 ambulance officers which officials note has resulted in improved ambulance response times.

However, problems at EDs means ambulances continue to get stuck in hospital car parks waiting to transfer patients, with May seeing a record 4773 hours lost on the ramp.

The government is investing $24m for new ambulance stations at Marion, Two Wells and Whyalla.

The existing Marion and Whyalla stations were to be upgraded, but now these areas will get new stations, while Two Wells will get its own station for the first time to service the expanding region which relies on crews based at Mallala and Gawler.

Work will start early next year and the stations are expected to open in 2026.

Another $23.5m will be spent over two years for SAAS to introduce an electronic patient care record.

Ambulance crews will be equipped with electronic devices to enter patient notes directly, eliminating the need for paramedics to hand write case cards and subsequent data entry by support staff.

The system will connect with hospitals’ electronic record system to streamline communication between ambulance and hospital staff. The switch from paper will commence from mid next year.

The budget also delivers $10.7m to expand the Clinical Telephone Assessment (CTA) service, staffed by 15 clinicians who identify if an emergency response is required or if a patient could see their regular care provider such as their GP, or be referred to another care pathway such as the Urgent Mental Health Care Centre.

The service assesses about 1400 patients a month, with about a quarter not needing an ambulance.

The funding means SAAS can train and employ 16 more clinicians, potentially saving twice as many unnecessary ambulance call-outs each month.

Premier Peter Malinauskas said the government is giving SAAS the tools it needs to deliver lifesaving care to patients.

“These three new stations for Marion, Two Wells and Whyalla mean our government is now delivering 13 brand-new ambulance sites for South Australians, with the first of our new metro stations – at Norwood – due to open soon,” he said.

“We’re also bringing ambulance patient care records into the 21st Century to deliver more streamlined patient care.”

Health Minister Chris Picton said: “From day one, our government has listened to our ambos and we are delivering them the resources they need to provide better and quicker care to patients, which has already led to a dramatic improvement in response times.”