Record number of ED patients arriving by ambulance as authorities fight to curb ‘ramping’

Hospital emergency departments in one Australian state have been smashed by record ambulance activity as authorities curb “ramping”.

Ambulance activity in NSW has reached its highest point since reporting began almost 15 years ago, with more patients than ever being rushed by paramedics to hospital emergency departments.

EDs admitted 802,697 patients between October and December 2024, according to the latest quarterly report by the Bureau of Health Information.

Of those admissions, a record 196,617 arrived by ambulance, with overall ambulance activity rising by 3.1 per cent to its highest point since reporting began in 2010.

While the number of patients starting their treatment on time once arriving rose to 65 per cent, those leaving without, or before completing treatment, also grew.

BHI chief executive Diane Watson said almost 67,000 people left the ED without complete treatment, up a whopping 32 per cent since the same time 2019.

“The latest analysis shows patients with less urgent conditions and patients aged 15-44 were more likely to leave without, or before completing, treatment,” she said.

“Patients who left were most likely to do so on Mondays – the busiest day of the week – and across the week between 8pm and 4am”.

A record number of ED patients are arriving by ambulance. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

The majority of patients choosing to leave the ED waited between two and two and a half hours, according to the report, while one in 10 waited more than six hours.

One in five of those patients returned to the same emergency department or to a different one within five days, putting “further demand on public hospitals”.

While acknowledging “there is still much more to do”, NSW Health Minister Ryan Park said authorities had made “significant reductions in hospital ramping”.

The number of patients being transferred from paramedics to ED staff within 30 minutes improved in some of the country’s busiest hospitals in the last quarter of 2024.

St George Hospital in Sydney’s south, which reported 82,000 attendees last year, saw a 25 percentage point increase in patent transfers compared to the same time 2023.

Blacktown in the city’s west also reported a 23.2 percentage point increase against 67,000 patients last year, while Campbelltown and Liverpool hospitals, which both saw about 90,000 patients last year, both reported percentage point improvements between seven and nine.

NSW Health Minister Ryan Park said authorities had made ‘significant reductions in hospital ramping’. Picture: NewsWire / Nikki Short

“Relieving pressure on our emergency departments and ensuring people receive care in a timely manner have been top priorities of our government,” Mr Park said.

“Such significant challenges have been met with a significant half-a-billion dollar investment in ED relief.

“Today, I’m so pleased to see encouraging progress in our effort to reduce ramping.”

Nonetheless, Mr Park said people who present to hospitals with non-life-threatening conditions could still expect to wait long periods in the ED.

He said the state government had invested half a billion dollars into ED relief, including tax incentives to GPs and $100m for urgent care services.

Originally published as Record number of ED patients arriving by ambulance as authorities fight to curb ‘ramping’