Ambulance ramping reaches breaking point in Hobart, health unions demand action
A paltry number of ambulances were available to respond to emergencies in Tasmania’s South on Monday, leading to a “chaotic” 24 hours at the Royal Hobart Hospital.
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Demand was “as bad as it gets” at the Royal Hobart Hospital (RHH) on Monday, according to the Health and Community Services Union (HACSU), which said there were eight ambulances ramped at the hospital in the afternoon, giving rise to “chaos” and delayed response times.
A screenshot of the ambulance dispatch system for the South of the state, shared by the union on social media, showed there were nine ambulances ramped in the region at 4.30pm, including eight at the Royal and one at Sorell, while another was on a meal break.
The remaining eight crews were either responding to emergencies or en route back to the hospital.
This left just three available ambulances in the region but HACSU state secretary Robbie Moore said none of these crews were sufficiently equipped to respond to incidents in the local area.
Ambulance ramping occurs when paramedics are unable to transfer patients to the emergency department due to a lack of available space in the ED.
“[Monday] was as bad as it gets,” Mr Moore said.
“Ramping was predominantly the issue. [Ambulances] just couldn’t leave the hospital.
“The emergency department was flooded [with people] and there were no beds available on the wards.
“It was very chaotic and response times were delayed significantly.”
Mr Moore said staff had expected management to declare a ‘code yellow’ at the hospital, which would have indicated an internal emergency and enabled the department to cancel workers’ leave in order to fill staff shortages.
“But we know that [the department] don’t do [this] because of what they see as the political consequences of doing it. Because then it gets into the media and it’s something that the minister has to answer for,” he said.
Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation Tasmanian branch secretary Emily Shepherd said Monday was an “incredibly challenging day” for staff at the RHH, with a lack of inpatient beds exacerbating the situation and more than 90 people in the ED at one point.
“Proposing to offload patients into EDs within 60 minutes of arrival is … just moving vulnerable patients from the car of an experienced healthcare professional into an overcrowded ED with the likelihood that there is no bed space and not enough staff to provide the care required,” she said.
“The focus must be on an immediate commitment from government to implement and fund access and flow solutions to improve the health system for all – staff and, importantly, patients alike.”
Police, Fire and Emergency Management Minister Felix Ellis said the Tasmanian government was investing heavily in ambulance services across the state and lashed the federal government for not “properly” funding general practice.
“We’ve seen from the latest reports that the federal government has dropped the ball [the most] in Tasmania when it comes to Tasmanians having to make contributions for GP services,” he said.
“So it’s time that [the federal government] invest so that people get the care in the community at a primary care level before it gets worse, they have to call an ambulance, and they wind up in the emergency department.”
A Health Department spokesman said Tasmanian hospital EDs and ambulance services saw an increase in demand in the summer holiday period due to there being high numbers of tourists around, as well as injuries and illnesses linked to “seasonal activities”, such as warmer weather, sport, and socialising.
“The department is experienced in managing peaks in demand and has well-established escalation protocols and procedures in place, which have been effective in managing the surge period of recent days,” he said.
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Originally published as Ambulance ramping reaches breaking point in Hobart, health unions demand action
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