Angry Tasmanian paramedics are threatening to take industrial action over fears that the state’s ramping crisis is getting worse.
The Health and Community Services Union (HACSU) claim that ambulance response times have surged to nearly double the recommended time for urgent calls and say more than two-thirds of the states paramedic workforce are on the brink of quitting.
Ramping, also known as ‘transfer of care delays’, occurs when patients receive care in ambulances or hospital waiting areas because emergency departments are overwhelmed.
HACSU’s Lucas Digney said paramedics on the frontline are dealing with “enormous stress” each and every day due to the ‘avoidable’ crisis.
“They’re growing increasingly frustrated at the failure of the government to provide any solution to, what they see as, inadequate staffing,” Digney said.
He said Tasmania already has the country’s worst ambulance response times and says the situation is continuing to get worse.
The union pointed the blame at under-investment in primary health, hospital capacity and frontline staff.
The state government has acknowledged the need for improvements and say they are actively working to ensure that every patient receives the necessary healthcare.
The government has employed additional paramedics and dispatch officers and is conducting a review into emergency departments.
