Mum and bub with Covid caught up in ambulance delays amid spiralling demand
A Central Coast mum has revealed her “eye-opening” encounter with NSW’s crippled ambulance network amid demands to increase its workforce by thousands.
NSW
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The state’s crippled ambulance network desperately needs an overhaul with 2500 more paramedics and localised stations to meet spiralling demand, the union says.
The Health Services Union said resource-starved paramedics were struggling to reach patients on time before spending lengthy periods locked outside hospitals, waiting to hand over the patient.
HSU Secretary Gerard Hayes said the June state budget needed to address ambulance delays and backlogs and increase pay for paramedics.
“They will clearly have to indicate if the ambulance network is fit for purpose,” he said.
Mr Hayes said the government needed to bolster the workforce by 2500 paramedics to meet the demand.
Woy Woy mum Elle Rushton has seen the worst of the ambulance network in the past few months.
On one occasion, Ms Rushton was advised to call an ambulance for her one-year-old daughter Olivia who had Covid. It took about 20 minutes for the ambulance to come then she waited another 30-45 minutes for the paramedic to be able to do a handover at the hospital.
A week later, Ms Rushton was told by the Covid helpline to go to hospital after she experienced respiratory problems and suspected nerve reactions. She called triple-0 and decided to drive herself to the hospital.
At hospital she waited three hours surrounded by elderly patients before leaving because she didn’t feel safe exposing them to the virus.
“I have been in accidents, I have a disability and a heart condition. If I have a heart episode … what’s to say a paramedic can attend?” she said.
“It has really opened my eyes … we really need paramedics to be able to do their job.”
A NSW Ambulance spokesman said the workforce had been impacted by high numbers of Covid cases on top of more emergency incidents.
“The Covid-19 demand is on top of the normal paramedic workload which has now largely returned to pre-pandemic life, with an increase in car accidents, assaults, falls and other related call outs,” the spokesman said.
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