‘The rural station is mostly a phantom station’: Ambo says Humpty Doo station is constantly empty

A Top End ambulance centre, once called an empty “political stunt” by a paramedic, has now been described as a “phantom station” by another working ambo.

The Humpty Doo ambulance centre has been described as a “phantom station’ by a working ambo.

THE Humpty Doo ambulance centre, once called an empty “political stunt” by a paramedic, has now been described as a “phantom station” by another working ambo almost five years later.

The station was opened in May 2016 by then CLP chief minister Adam Giles and health minister John Elferink to address the growing demand for emergency services in the rural area.

Two months after it opened however, paramedics questioned the purpose of the station because it wasn’t given a dedicated crew to staff it, with one ambo calling it a “political stunt”. Now, almost five years later, these sentiments have been renewed by another paramedic, who did not want to be named for fear of losing their job.

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“What’s the point of having a rural station? The rural station is mostly a phantom station. Resources are limited, we can’t even cover the area we need to. Between Darwin, Palmerston and the rural area we just do not have enough ambos,” they said.

“We’ve been sent out to Humpty Doo at 7pm and have not returned until about 6.15am, one hour before the end of the shift.”

The paramedic said crews understood they would start and finish at Humpty Doo but they were not being given any rest time on their shifts because they were “flat out the whole time”.

“That station is mostly for show … It’s not fair on paramedics because of the workload and on the people out there,” they said.

“If there’s a serious accident, the distance between Palmerston and Humpty Doo itself is still 20 minutes, even more so further into Darwin. It highlights the fact we do not have enough resources.”

The Humpty Doo ambulance centre has been described as a “phantom station’ by a working ambo.

However, St John NT Ambulance Services director Andrew Thomas said the station was appropriately located.

“The location of each of our stations has been determined to offer the best coverage for our community and is something that we monitor as part of our contract to the Northern Territory government,” he said. “Humpty Doo station is a valuable resource to the community and suitably placed to service the rural area.

“If at any time crews are not physically available on station, it could be that they are responding to an emergency triple-0 call, attending hospital, returning from a case or taking a break during their 12-hour shift.”

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A Mataranka resident, who did not want to be named, said while she hadn’t needed to call for an ambulance recently, the last time she did paramedics came from Humpty Doo and they were quick and efficient.

But a Humpty Doo resident said he’d never seen any people or vehicles at the station. “Whatever ambulance I’ve seen coming this way, comes down the highway,” he said.

“I’ve never seen them come from (Humpty Doo). It is disappointing if you get hurt out here … if we have to wait for them to come from town.”