The Rockliff-Ferguson Government's failure to resource Ambulance Tasmanian is costing taxpayers $3 million a year in costs associated with ramping.
Information revealed in Estimates Hearings and confirmed by the Premier shows 14,400 patients spent more than 20,300 hours ramped in ambulances in the nine months between July last year and March this year.
The staffing costs associated with this were estimated at more than $283,000 in April alone, amounting to $3 million a year.
The Rockliff-Ferguson Government's absolute failure to properly resource Ambulance Tasmania is having a tragic and unacceptable impact on frontline paramedics and volunteers.
The government has done nothing to address the serious problems that were identified in the resilience scan of Ambulance Tasmania staff undertaken in 2021.
Three years ago a Federal Senate Inquiry into the mental health of first responders released 14 recommendations but to date only a couple have been implemented by the Tasmanian Liberal Government.
Ambulance response times have blown out by 30 per cent under the Liberal government and Tasmania has the worst response times in the country.
It's a sad fact that tragically Tasmanians are dying waiting for an ambulance.
Paramedics have been left without the resources they urgently need to ensure there are no more avoidable deaths and it is beyond time for the Rockliff-Ferguson Government to stop the spin and actually provide them.
Anita Dow MP
Shadow Health Minister
