Construction of the brand new Oatlands ambulance station is now complete, with the facility to begin servicing the local community later this month.
The space features two ambulance bays with capacity to expand to four, a dedicated training room and a two-bedroom residence for paramedics.
Health Minister Jacquie Petrusma said volunteers play a key role in the running of the station and often balance their emergency service commitments with regular employment.
“From speaking to the volunteers, what they’ve told me is that this new $2.75 million centre is fabulous,” she said.
“They deserve to have facilities that are fit for purpose, that allow them to rest, to sleep and be in comfort, while still being on call.”
The station is the fifth of 13 new ambulance facilities across Tasmania, alongside those in Bridgewater, Beaconsfield, Dodges Ferry and Burnie.
The Glenorchy ambulance superstation, which was meant to open by late 2024, will be “coming online very, very shortly”, Petrusma said.
Ambulance Tasmania’s Michelle Baxter said they are very grateful for the new facilities after three months of construction-related delays.
“We are very fortunate and we feel very blessed that we have a brand new state-of-the-art facility,” she said.
“It allows us to future-proof should communities grow, should demand grow. We’re very, very happy with it.”
