Media Release: SA election must mark a turning point for ramping
AMA SA President Associate Professor Peter Subramaniam has announced the organisation's election pillars following the release of October's ambulance ramping figures.
The President of the Australian Medical Association in South Australia (AMA SA) Associate Professor Peter Subramaniam says the 2026 South Australian election must be a ‘turning point’ to address ambulance ramping.
The latest figures reveal 3,984 hours were lost on the ramp across Adelaide’s public hospitals last month. Although there’s been a marked improvement since Winter, ramping remains worse than it was during October 2024 when 2,983 hours were lost on the ramp.
‘The 2026 South Australian election will be fought on health, and nothing illustrates the strain on the system more starkly than ramping,’ A/Prof Subramaniam says.
‘It’s heartening that the transit units at the Royal Adelaide Hospital and Queen Elizabeth Hospital appear to be having a positive impact on patient flow, but further action is needed.
‘South Australians deserve a health system that’s planned with purpose and resourced to meet their needs. They deserve a system that doesn’t leave sick and injured people waiting in the back of an ambulance for hours on end.
‘Polling day is four and a half months away. It’s time to confront the root causes of the crisis in our health system.’
Ahead of the election, AMA SA has developed three core election pillars:
1. Access to care – Ensuring all South Australians have timely, equitable access to comprehensive healthcare, no matter where they live.
2. Workforce resilience – Building and sustaining a medical workforce that is well-trained, well-supported and distributed where there’s community need.
3. Putting people first – Promoting community wellbeing through programs and policies that support preventative health and safe clinical oversight.
A/Prof Subramaniam is calling on all sides of politics to commit to detailed, costed, evidence-based policies that achieve results in these areas. He says AMA SA will release more detail about its priorities in the weeks leading to the 21 March poll.
‘There is no doubt in my mind that everyone is working towards the same goal: delivering better patient care. But governments cannot keep doing the same thing and expect the problems to go away,’ A/Prof Subramaniam says.
‘The State Government and opposition parties must demonstrate to the South Australian public what they will do differently. I urge them to listen to the evidence and crucially listen to the doctors on the frontline of care.
‘AMA SA stands ready to work constructively with leaders across the political spectrum to build a healthier South Australia.’
For more information please contact Media Manager Ben Terry on 0478 847 604.
