On Paramedics Under Pressure, Ramping …

Anita Dow MP, Shadow Minister for Health, Mental Health, and Wellbeing, 1 December 2023

Minister must make paramedic positions permanent

The Rockliff Government urgently needs to address the paramedic shortage across the north-west coast.

On Wednesday, 14 paramedic shifts were vacant across the coast, meaning that only two of six crews from Latrobe to Queenstown were fully functional and able to transfer patients to hospital.

This places incredible pressure on our paramedics, who are dedicated to their communities to help in medical emergencies and are often hamstrung in doing so.

Understandably, our paramedics are burnt out and any remaining goodwill is fading.

Health Minister Guy Barnett should commit as a matter of priority to appointing paramedics currently employed on short-term arrangements to permanent positions.

RTI information obtained by Labor shows that as of September 6, 2023, there were 79 paramedics in insecure work, with 43 paramedics on fixed-term contracts and 36 in casual positions.

Sixty-three per cent of those who are on fixed-term contracts have had three or more fixed-term contracts in their time with the service.

Insecure working arrangements make it extremely difficult to recruit and retain paramedics to Tasmania, who are enticed elsewhere by better pay, conditions and permanent work.

The Operational Research in Health Report 2023 clearly shows that 126 extra paramedics are needed, with 87 additional paramedics by 2025-2026.

A Labor Government will invest $6.5 million to support our state’s paramedics and improve ambulance response times, creating additional permanent paramedic positions across regional Tasmania.

Media release – Vica Bayley MP, Greens Member for Clark, 1 December 2023

Ambulance Ramping Inquiry Releases Shocking New Evidence and Statistics

Newly published evidence provided to the Parliamentary Inquiry into ambulance ramping has shown how ramping has skyrocketed under the Liberals, and detailed first-hand the devastating impact on patients and healthcare professionals.

The Liberals have been notoriously secretive about ambulance ramping and the extent of its impact on Tasmanians, but this inquiry has managed to extract some shocking new data.

These new figures show that in just eight years the number of patients ramped on admission to Tasmania’s hospitals has grown from 3,800 to over 21,000 people a year.

The figures also show Tasmanians spent 36,700 hours ramped in 2022/23 – a number 16 times higher than the 2015/16 result of 2,300 hours ramped.

With ramping spiralling out of control under a succession of Liberal Health Ministers, it’s no wonder the inquiry is hearing so many distressing personal stories. Dozens of paramedics have shared their harrowing experiences, with yet more new submissions showing the devastating consequences of ramping for patients and healthcare staff alike.

This is not just a health care crisis, it’s a massive Work Health and Safety fail and placing hard working health care professionals at serious risk.

Every year since the Liberals won government they’ve said they’ve got ambulance ramping under control, but their own figures show every year things have become worse. While healthcare staff struggle to care for patients under terrible circumstances, the government still has its head in the sand.

The Greens understand that urgent action is needed to address both the causes and effects of ambulance ramping, and we will keep fighting to make the Liberals finally wake up, to take this seriously, and to act.

Graphs created by the Greens using data provided by the government in response to a request from the ambulance ramping inquiry – page 6 of this document.