Royal Adelaide Hospital branded ‘basket case’ as delays mount

Paramedics have again hit out at Adelaide’s crisis-plagued hospital system.

Ambulance ramping at the new Royal Adelaide Hospital. Picture: Ambulance Employees Association

Paramedics have again hit out at Adelaide’s crisis-plagued hospital system, taking particular aim at the $2.4 billion Royal Adelaide Hospital which they claim is a “complete basket case”.

Incensed by overcrowding within the emergency department at South Australia’s flagship hospital, Ambulance Employees Association secretary Phil Palmer yesterday said anger among union members was palpable because of ­“absolutely shocking” work conditions.

He cited figures showing at least 43 hours of ambulance crew availability were lost in a 12-hour period on Sunday because of “ramping” at the RAH. A further 23 hours were lost because of ramping at Flinders Medical Centre in Adelaide’s south.

He said, collectively, that equated to taking six ­ambulance crews off the road for the day. “This mess … is an everyday ­occurrence — it goes on and on,” he told the ABC. “The RAH is a complete basket case.

“Our members aren’t getting breaks, they’re getting frustrated … they can’t answer triple-zero calls because they’re tied up. It ­really is a dog’s breakfast.”

Ramping is when an ­ambu­lance is parked outside a hospital because there are no free beds to treat a transported patient.

At the root of the problem is a lack of capacity and inefficient ­patient flow — not only at the RAH but also across Adelaide’s metropolitan hospital network.

Mr Palmer encouraged the public to heap pressure on the state Liberal government, which inherited a litany of problems within the health portfolio when it came to power in March.

A spokeswoman for Health Minister Stephen Wade said there was no quick fix to the problems, but progress was being made: “It won’t happen overnight but we will work through the challenges in a methodical and consultative manner.”