Ambulance ramping has “spiralled out control under” and is “now occurring five times more frequently than it did just seven years ago,” according to the Tasmanian Greens.
Greens Leader Rosalie Woodruff has announced that the party will initiate a parliamentary inquiry into ambulance ramping, focusing on its causes, effects, and potential solutions, as parliament resumes this week.
Speaking alongside Woodruff in Hobart this morning, Paramedic Jan Pur said no-one is immune to ramping.
“I think the general public really appreciate the fact that ramping is an insidious problem that affects everyone,” Pur said.
“It’s the weakest members of our community that are really affected by it.”
The Health and Community Services Union will support the inquiry, which spokesperson Robbie Moore says has “gone on for far too long.”
“We are seeing lives being put at risk because of ramping every single day.”
Health Minister Guy Barnett says the government will await the details of the Greens proposal before commenting on it.
He says a record $8.3 million a day is being invested into health.
