Ambulance Tasmania announces plan to meet demand after state’s borders reopen on December 15

More details have been revealed about how the ambulance service will cope a potential Covid-19 outbreak after Tasmanian borders open, as the state’s vaccination blitz continues. FULL STORY >>

A RECRUITMENT blitz and a strike force of a dozen ambulances set aside for the event of a Covid-19 outbreak are among Ambulance Tasmania contingency plans in preparation for the state’s reopening of borders.

But a union says there are still many questions about the state’s preparedness for “inevitable” new Covid-19 cases entering the state, including how patients will enter hospitals, and what happens if a paramedic tests positive to the virus.

Ambulance Tasmania chief executive Joe Acker said while the majority of Tasmanians who test positive for Covid-19 were expected to be treated at home and would not require transport, the agency was ready to provide assistance.

Mr Acker said the strategy included a fast-track recruitment process for 60 staff for emergency operations and the state operations centre, including secondary triage.

Twelve fully stocked ambulances will also be prepared to be on standby and ready to be deployed in the event of a Covid-19 outbreak, he said.

Mr Acker said the appointment of nine community paramedics, three each in the south, north and northwest, and management of personal protective equipment would also be important.

“These strategies are already under way and we are confident that when the borders reopen (on December 15), Ambulance Tasmania is well placed to meet any increasing demand on our ambulance service from COVID-19,’’ he said.

Health and Community Services Union Tasmania secretary Tim Jacobson said while acknowledging efforts to bolster recruitment, attracting staff remained a major issue across the health system.

Capacity issues within the system, including the issue of ramping, also created more unknowns in the future event of a Covid-19 outbreak.

“You would assume there would be a different entry point to our hospitals for those Covid patients, but we don’t know specifically what this will look like,’’ Mr Jacobson said.

“If there is a potential Covid case, the ambulance would need to immediately need to go back in and be deep cleaned before it gets out on the road again.”

Health and Community Services Union secretary Tim Jacobson. Picture: Chris Kidd

Mr Jacobson said many health staff were already “exhausted” and there was some “uncertainty and fear” about the impact on the system once borders reopened.

Health Minister Jeremy Rockliff said the government had a comprehensive plan to ensure the state could safely reopen and reconnect Tasmanians.

Mr Rockliff said the best protection was to be vaccinated.

“In the recent NSW outbreak, 95 per cent of people who were hospitalised were not fully vaccinated. We know this is fast becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated,’’ he said.

“That is why we have set such a high vaccination target, of 90 per cent by December 1, and we are well on track to achieving that.”

At the weekend, there was a rush of visitors to a pop-up clinic at Hobart’s Princes Wharf, with long lines of people lining up to get the jab observed on Saturday.

People lining up for the COVID vaccination clinic at PW1. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

As of Monday, more than 90 per cent of Tasmanians aged 16 and over had received one dose and 78.8 per cent were fully vaccinated.

Mr Rockliff said most people who tested positive for Covid-19 were likely to experience only mild symptoms and recover, and he expected the majority of people to be treated at home or in another community setting.

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Originally published as Ambulance Tasmania announces plan to meet demand after state’s borders reopen on December 15