The Malinauskas Labor Government's significant investment to bolster ambulance services across Adelaide continues to reap dividends with the best response times for Priority 2 lights and sirens emergencies in the past three years.
In April, 66.7 per cent of ambulances called to Priority 2 cases arrived on scene within the target time of 16 minutes.
This has significantly improved from April 2022 – one month after the Government inherited a broken and severely under-funded ambulance service from the former Liberal Government – when only 34.3 per cent of Priority 2 cases were reached within 16 minutes, while it's 6.8 percentage points better than this time last year (59.9 per cent).
It's also 1.2 percentage points better than the previous month (65.5 per cent), and the best overall since April 2021, when the P2 response rate was 67.1 per cent.
The response time for Priority 1 emergencies was the best result for the month of April since 2020, with 72.5 per cent of P1 jobs being attended to within the target time of eight minutes.
Priority 1 response times |
Percentage within eight minutes |
|---|---|
April 2024 |
72.5 per cent |
April 2023 |
68.1 per cent |
April 2022 |
51.3 per cent |
Priority 2 response times |
Percentage within 16 minutes |
|---|---|
April 2024 |
66.7 per cent |
April 2023 |
59.9 per cent |
April 2022 |
34.3 per cent |
The improved response times are despite having 1,027 more ambulance transports to Adelaide metro hospitals in April 2024 compared to April 2023, an increase of 8.3 per cent.
One South Australian who directly benefitted from an ambulance arriving quickly was 73-year-old Irene Sutton, who was involved in a motor vehicle accident in North Adelaide in March.
The first ambulance was on the scene in four minutes – well inside the benchmark for a Priority 2 call-out – with two more ambulances also arriving within the 16-minute response time target.
The improved response times are a direct result of the State Government bolstering SA's ambulance workforce, hiring 219 extra ambos above attrition in our first two years in government.
We are also making a substantial investment in infrastructure to ensure our growing ambo workforce can respond quickly to emergencies, with five brand new ambulance stations, a new ambulance operations centre headquarters, four rebuilt stations and upgrades to another 10 stations.
The new Norwood station is scheduled for an official opening in coming months, stations at Woodville and Edwardstown are on schedule to be completed by the end of the year, and work has started at the Golden Grove station.
As put by Chris Picton
South Australians need to know they can rely on an ambulance to arrive on time when they need it in an emergency.
Response times have improved markedly since we came to Government, meaning more people are receiving care and treatment in a timely manner.
Our hard-working ambos are doing a great job in providing quality service to the community.
We have invested heavily in increasing the numbers of ambos on the road, and we're starting to see the impact of our recruiting drive.
As put by SA Ambulance Service (SAAS) Chief Executive Officer, Rob Elliott
Our crews and emergency operations staff understand the urgency of every call, and thanks to their continued efforts we are seeing marked improvements, and the best response to Priority 2 emergencies in three years.
There are several factors contributing to our improved results, but the most significant contributor is that we have more paramedics and ambulance officers in the community. We're excited to see even more progress as we continue to roll out the operational growth plan and bring in the remaining ambos and dispatchers.
