Ambulance Tasmania paramedics threaten industrial action over ramping, says HACSU boss

Tasmania’s Health Minister has responded to a union warning that paramedics are considering industrial action over ambulance ramping.

Ambulance Tasmania vehicles.

Fed-up paramedics say they are considering industrial action over the state’s ramping crisis.

The Health and Community Sector Unions says ambulance response times have surged to nearly double the recommended time for urgent calls.

Ambulance ramping is a term which refers to the practice of patients being cared for by paramedics in ambulances or dedicated hospital waiting areas before their admission when emergency departments are too busy to see them.

It is officially know as “transfer of care delays”.

HACSU industrial manager Lucas Digney said he was worried things were getting worse.

“Ambulance response times in Tasmania were already the worst in the country, and they continue to get worse,” he said.

“It’s soul destroying for our members, as they’re dealing with the enormous stress caused by it every day, and there is absolutely no plan to fix it.”

Shadow Health Minister Anita Dow and HACSU member Lucas Digney.

He said the crisis was due to chronic under-investment in primary health, hospital capacity and frontline staff.

“Despite the government’s assurances of added staffing, many positions are either not permanently funded or remain vacant, leading to an over-reliance on overtime as the primary but unsustainable solution,” he said.

“Our paramedics and ambulance workers are already the busiest in the nation.

“Ramping is taking an extra toll, both physically and emotionally.”

HACSU and the nurses union will on Thursday give evidence before state parliaments Select Committee on Transfer of Care Delays (Ambulance Ramping).

Among the submissions to date a paramedic who said ramping was taking its toll on all involved.

“The helplessness and hopelessness of knowing that the patient’s long-term health outcomes and life expectancy are being altered due to ramping is the stuff of nightmares and causes immeasurable psychological harm,” they wrote.

“Personally I have experienced more trauma while ramped than I will ever witness doing my actual job in an ambulance serving the community.”

Another recounted the story of an elderly man who was told he was about to die. He was asked what he would like to happen next in a crowded ramping area.

Health Minister Guy Barnett said the government acknowledged improvements needed to be made and was strongly focused on ensuring every patient received the healthcare they needed.

Attorney-General Guy Barnett. Tasmanian parliament recalled. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

“Our paramedics do an incredible job under challenging circumstances and we continue to work with our staff and Unions to improve patient outcomes,” Mr Barnett said.

“We are taking action to improve transfer of care, including by deploying community paramedics, secondary triage clinicians and mental health emergency response teams to provide more care in the community. In fact, since coming to Government, we have employed an additional 220 paramedics and dispatch officers.

“We have also commissioned a review into our Emergency Departments which will help us to ensure resourcing, work practices, communication, and hospital flow strategies are the best they possibly can be. The outcomes of the first stage of the review will be released in coming weeks.

“We know one of the significant pinch points in that process is when an ambulance reaches the hospital. But the challenge begins well before that.

“This include the ongoing challenge of a lack of GPs, which is an issue the Federal Government needs to significantly improve.

“While we have increased the number of beds available at our hospitals to ensure Tasmanians can get access to healthcare when they need it, the Federal Government’s lack of appropriate placements for aged care and NDIS participants causes significant blockages.”