New data published today by the federal Productivity Commission shows that NSW's ambulance service is underfunded and underdelivering, according to the Australian Paramedics Association (NSW).
"The report clearly shows that residents of NSW receive lower per capita funding than most other Australians for emergency health services," said APA (NSW) President Chris Kastelan. "As a result, they wait longer for service and report lower patient satisfaction than their counterparts in other states."
Satisfaction with Paramedics themselves is high in NSW, with 96% of patients rating their level of care as 'high or very high'. But on other key performance metrics, NSW lags behind.
At 62% and 59% respectively, NSW residents' satisfaction with phone answer and ambulance arrival times were at least 5% below national averages; underperforming figures in the nation's leading jurisdictions by 13 percentage points. NSW residents reported lower satisfaction rates in 2019-20 than anywhere else except the Northern Territory.
"Patients aren't happy with response times because there's not enough ambulances on the road. NSW Ambulance has not significantly increased their minimum operating levels since 2010, despite a decade of poor response times, with many staff absences left unfilled.
"And patients aren't happy with phone answer times because, as we have always known, our state's control centres are under resourced and beyond capacity," said Mr Kastelan.
This year's report shows that NSW's average ambulance response times are the second longest in the country, both state-wide and in a comparison between capital cities.
"Given that we're slower to answer calls and to respond to patients, it's no surprise that this report shows below average survival rates for adults suffering from cardiac arrest in NSW.
"NSW residents are right to be concerned with this level of service. The consequences of an under resourced health system can literally be life or death," said Mr Kastelan.
APA (NSW) has called for increased funding to the NSW system, where current per capita expenditure of $139.92 is well below the national average of $164.
The union says that funds are badly needed to increase baseline staffing levels across NSW. Mr Kastelan also drew attention to the need for funding specialist positions, such as Intensive Care and Extended Care Paramedics—especially in regional and rural areas.
"Specialised Paramedics offer great bang for the buck, because their advanced skill set can help keep patients out of hospitals, reduce the need for subsequent treatment, and reduce recovery times.
"Particularly in regional areas, funding more of these positions will dramatically improve performance, and reduce overall drain across the healthcare system."
