AMA report reveals grim state of ambulance ramping Australia-wide
The AMA’s new Ambulance Ramping Report Card highlights the dire state of the hospital logjam crisis and raises concerns about data transparency.
The AMA’s 2023 Ambulance Ramping Report Card shows ambulance ramping continues to put the lives of Australians at risk as all states and territories are failing to meet their performance targets.
The report card also exposes the concerning lack of data transparency, which makes it difficult to determine if new policy measures are leading to improvements in ramping.
The AMA found reporting on ambulance ramping differ between jurisdictions was haphazard and inconsistent hindering national efforts to improve public hospitals and healthcare across Australia.
AMA Vice President Dr Danielle McMullen told Channel 9’s Today Show there were a number of reasons hospitals were struggling.
“Our hospitals are in logjam (and) our hospitals are under-resourced. Staff are doing the best they can to get people the care they need, but they desperately need more resourcing, more space, more beds and a system that works for our patients and the community,” Dr McMullen said.
On Sunday, Dr McMullen told Channel 10’s The Project: “It feels like the system is letting people down”.
“We really need a nationwide approach to make sure that patients can get off the ambulance trolley and into the emergency department in a timely fashion,” Dr McMullen said.
