Nearly 2,300 more South Australians in lights and sirens emergencies were reached on time by an ambulance last month, compared with the Liberals’ last January in office, highlighting the significant impact of improvements in response times under the Malinauskas Labor Government.
Latest data from SA Ambulance Service shows an additional 2,277 patients in life-threatening Priority 1 and 2 emergencies in metropolitan Adelaide were seen on time in January, compared with January 2022 under the former Liberal government.
For the same period, there were also 3,767 fewer late cases.
The Malinauskas Labor Government’s significant investments in the ambulance service are helping paramedics reach more South Australians on time in emergencies.
Response times have improved significantly since Labor was elected, with 71.5 per cent of Priority 1 cases reached on time in January, well above the 60 per cent benchmark, and compared to just 47.1 per cent in January 2022 under the former Liberal government. That’s a 24.4 percentage point improvement.
For Priority 2 callouts, 65.1 per cent of cases were reached on time in January 2024, compared to just 36.2 per cent in January 2022. That’s a 28.9 percentage point improvement.
In January this year there were 6,224 Priority 2 cases and 168 Priority 1 cases reached on time – a total of 6,392 life-threatening emergencies seen on time.
In January 2022, there were 3,985 Priority 2 cases and 130 Priority 1 cases reached on time – a total of 4,115 life-threatening emergencies seen on time.
That’s an extra 2,277 South Australians in life-threatening emergencies reached on time under Labor in just one month.
The latest Report on Government Services 2022-2023 released last week also shows that South Australia has experienced the most significant improvements of any jurisdiction in ambulance response times in a year.
It shows that average ambulance response times in metropolitan Adelaide improved 22 per cent under Labor’s first year in government with SA Ambulance Service responding to 90 per cent of all incidents within 55.6 minutes – compared to 71.3 minutes the year before – which is more than 15 minutes quicker.
The report also highlights the Malinauskas Government’s increased investment in SAAS with $109.9 million in additional government funding in 2022-23. This compares to the previous Liberal government which cut funding to SAAS by $13 million in its first two years.
The Malinauskas Labor Government has put more than 170 extra ambos on the road and hired more than 550 additional front-line staff since being elected.
The Government has also pledged to open 550 extra beds to improve capacity across the system.
This year alone, the Malinauskas Government will open 150 new inpatient beds which will help improve patient flow and reduce bed-block.
As put by Peter Malinauskas
More South Australians in life-threatening emergencies are being helped by our Government’s investments in the ambulance service and the health system.
In January alone, nearly 2,300 extra South Australians in life-threatening emergencies were reached on time by an ambulance, compared to the Liberals’ last January in office.
The Liberals shamefully let ambulance response times deteriorate to the point that in a life-threatening emergency, there was a two in three chance the ambulance would not turn up on time.
Now, thanks to the investments the Malinauskas Labor Government is making, there’s a two in three chance the ambulance will arrive on time.
As put by Chris Picton
We have put more than 170 extra ambos on the road and hired more than 550 additional health staff above attrition since coming to government.
We still have more investments to come – more doctors, nurses, ambos and hospital beds, including 150 inpatient beds to open this year alone to help improve patient flow and reduce bed-block.
Our investments in the ambulance service are turning around response times so much so that last month alone nearly 3000 extra patients in serious emergencies were reached on time compared to the Liberals’ last January in office.
We know there is more work to do.
We are building hundreds more beds to improve patient flow through our hospitals and increase capacity.
David Speirs and the Liberals have no policies on health and say that our investments in extra beds are ‘probably wasted money’. We couldn’t disagree more.
We are reversing the cuts made to hospitals and staff under the former Liberal government.
