The Rockliff Ferguson Government needs to act urgently to properly fund and resource Ambulance Tasmania to ensure our paramedics are well supported and all Tasmanians have access to emergency services.
As Tasmanians wait longer and longer for an ambulance, our overstretched paramedics are burning out at alarming rates, with grave concerns over their mental health and wellbeing.
With COVID adding to the pressure on hospitals and other health services, ambulance ramping continues on a regular basis and we have the worst ambulance response times in the country – 30 per cent worse than when the Liberals came to office.
At the same time, communities are being left waiting for emergency services as metropolitan stations are put under growing pressures, ambulances are diverted or shifts are left unfilled across the state, with the Health and Community Services union estimating a shortfall of at least 100 paramedics across the state.
Meanwhile, a ‘resilience scan’ commissioned by Ambulance Tasmania last September revealed more than a third of the 323 staff taking part were suffering from fatigue, depression, anxiety, stress or post-traumatic stress disorder.
That it took a recent ABC Right to Information request to bring these results to light shows how little this government cares about providing a safe workplace for the amazing paramedics across the state we rely on to provide emergency care for Tasmanians.
We need better resourcing of metropolitan ambulance stations, to ensure they have the staff they need to meet growing demand and that services are not diverted from rural areas and to ensure staff are well supported and not burning out.
If the new Premier wants to lead a government with heart, he needs to show some ticker and improve ambulance access and emergency care for all Tasmanians by properly resourcing and supporting our paramedics and volunteer paramedics who are doing a great job under ever increasing pressure.
Anita Dow MP
Shadow Health Minister
