A review into ambulance ramping at Tasmanian hospitals has revealed an improvement in patient handover times, with transfers completed within the target timeframe jumping from 67% to 82% over the past nine months.
The Transfer of Care Review found all four major public hospitals across the state have made progress since the government’s 60-minute ‘ramping ban’ came into effect in April 2024.
Health Minister Jacquie Petrusma welcomed the findings, noting ambulances spent 21,504 fewer hours ramped compared to the previous year, a 67% reduction.
“This is an outstanding improvement and means ambulances are being released from hospitals back into the community and helping Tasmanians sooner,” Petrusma said.
“The amount of time that paramedics are spending at hospitals has also significantly reduced, from an average of 52.5 minutes in April 2024, to just 36.3 minutes in April 2025.”
“I want to thank our dedicated healthcare staff who are making this possible and I am grateful for the contributions of all stakeholders.”
But medical experts warn that while ambulances are moving on quicker, the deeper issue of hospital overcrowding still hasn’t been resolved.
Dr Michael Lumsden-Steel, president of the Australian Medical Association’s Tasmanian branch, said the improvements have simply shifted pressure points elsewhere in the system.
“We’ve been able to get the patients out of the ambulances quicker, but our EDs aren’t really achieving much greater flow out of the emergency departments into the hospitals,” he told Local Radio.
The review singled out Launceston General Hospital as continuing to struggle with patient movement, with Dr Lumsden-Steel calling it “one of the worst” in the country for transfer rates out of the ED.
The Royal Hobart Hospital achieved a 14% improvement in transfer rates despite increasing patient acuity, while North West Regional Hospital and Mersey Community Hospital performed best with 92% and 96% rates respectively.
The report made four key recommendations, including that each hospital develop its own action plan to tackle delays and that data reporting systems be improved.
Dr Lumsden-Steel identified a critical shortage of subacute beds as a major contributing factor to ongoing congestion.
“I think we’ve maximised with this little project the maximum efficiencies we can get. But now we need to increase capacity,” he said.
“I think there’s a lot of effort and money being spent to try and improve the capacity. We’ve got a long way to go.”
The Department of Health says it will now work with staff and unions to implement the review’s recommendations, with consultations to begin in the coming weeks.
