Legislative Council, Thursday 26 August 2021

Ms FORREST question to LEADER of the GOVERNMENT in the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, Mrs HISCUTT

With regard to Ambulance response times in the Circular Head region over the last five years;

1) What is the average response time taken for an ambulance to reach a call out for each year;

2) What is the longest response time each year; and

2.1 What was the reason for this long response time in each case;

3) How many times has the Smithton Ambulance station not had an on-site paramedic overnight during this period per year;

3.1 What arrangements have been put in place to cover these times and;

3.2 How does the government ensure the urgent/emergency health and safety of people in Circular Head when the station does not have a paramedic on-site?

Answer:

1) The emergency response times for the Circular Head area have been relatively stable from 2016-17 to 2020-21. Please see the table below.

2) Specific case information cannot be provided, however the length of an emergency response time is influenced by several factors. This includes the demand for emergency ambulance responses at the particular point in time, location of resources and resource availability. 

The ongoing stability of the patient can be monitored via call-backs from the State Operations Centre, which receives Triple Zero call and manages emergency ambulance deployment.

3) This information is not available. The Government is committed to maintaining ambulance service delivery to communities across Tasmania at all times. Where shift vacancies do arise, arrangements are made to backfill these shifts.