An elderly patient who was stuck in bed waited 12 hours for an ambulance in Sydney this week, as parts of the city reached the highest possible emergency designation and crews were relocated from the Illawarra to help address mounting call backlog.
The Australian Paramedics Association (NSW) has been told it took 12 hours for a car to be responded to the elderly patient on Monday, as the service struggled under heavy workload due to poor management and insufficient resourcing.
"What we're seeing this week is more evidence of a healthcare system that's in crisis," said APA (NSW) President Chris Kastelan.
"For a patient to be waiting 12 hours just to get an ambulance is disturbing. It's distressing. And it's completely unacceptable."
"We all know people don't dial Triple Zero when the going's good—our emergency services are there for times of crisis, and it's heartbreaking to think people in NSW are being let down so badly when they're most in need.
"It's heartbreaking for the families, and for Paramedics—who are in this job because they want to help people. When the ambulance service is falling to pieces like it is right now, we're not able to do that."
The union says that Monday's incident was just the latest example of response times blowing out due to ongoing under resourcing,
Sydney has been hitting emergency status levels with increasing frequency this year, as high call volume and inadequate surge planning has left Paramedics working overtime, missing meal breaks, and even missing out on their scheduled appointments to receive the COVID vaccine.
Staffing shortfalls are also causing strain in other areas, with ambulances from across the Illawarra being sent up to Sydney to attend to call backlog.
"On Wednesday evening, there were crews from Dapto, Bulli, and Oak Flats being sent Sydney. Where does that leave the local communities, who rely on those ambulances? "
"Letting the service run in a state of perpetual near-crisis level is unacceptable."
"Currently, Ambulance Executives seem to be prioritising the budget over patient and Paramedic safety by delaying the maintenance and review of minimum operating levels. This needs to change."
