Sat. Nov 2nd, 2024
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Doctors groups say a Tasmanian Liberal plan to effectively ban ambulance ramping is “unsafe”, is a band-aid fix, and could harm workforce recruitment and retention.

Liberal health spokesperson Guy Barnett made the election promise on Sunday, which would require patients to be transferred from ambulances to emergency departments within 30 minutes.

A new protocol for 60-minute transfers will begin this month, and would be reduced to 45 minutes next year, and 30 minutes the year after — the minimum amount of time it can take for transfers to happen.

A few ambulances lined up at the bottom of a ramp at a hosptial.
Ramping happens when a hospital is unable to admit a patient, so that person must remain in the care of ambulance paramedics, effectively rendering the ambulance unavailable.(
ABC News: Maren Preuss
)

Ramping inquiry

As part of the announcement, Mr Barnett also promised 44 more full-time doctors and 25 full-time nurses at the Royal Hobart Hospital (RHH), and 10 more general practitioners to give 24/7 coverage.

Mr Barnett told ABC Radio Hobart that the ‘ban’ on ramping came from consultation with stakeholders, to free up paramedics to respond to emergencies in the community.

“This is Australia’s best practice. It’s already happening in the ACT now,” he said.

The announcement comes after the Liberal government faced extensive scrutiny over hospital ramping as part of a parliamentary inquiry, during which the RHH emergency department director highlighted a dire situation which was unsafe for staff and patients.

But the ramping ‘ban’ has raised alarms.

A female paramedic walks past an ambulance parked outside the Royal Hobart Hospital.

Under the Liberals’ policy, paramedics must transfer patients into the care of a hospital’s emergency department within half an hour of arriving.(
ABC News: Luke Bowden
)

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