The Hodgman Liberal Government is committed to ensuring all Tasmanians have access to high quality ambulance services.
We’ve significantly invested in our ambulance service, with around 20 more paramedics on the road today compared to when we came to Government.
We welcome the Auditor General’s Ambulance Emergency Services report (July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2015), which was tabled today in Parliament.
The Auditor General’s report found that Ambulance Tasmania is performing soundly amid the challenging environment of increasing demand we face as our population continues to age.
The report found that Ambulance Tasmania’s clinical outcomes and cost per response were comparable and in some cases better, than other jurisdictions.
It also found that response times had remained stable over the five year period examined, despite a rise in demand for ambulance services.
The report made a number of recommendations, including examining data collection and performance indicators, as well as examining new strategies to enhance AT’s capacity to effectively deliver services to the community.
Wherever we can, together with our additional investments in Ambulance Tasmania, we want to continuously improve and we will take on board all of the positive recommendations that have been made.
The Government is already taking action which complements the recommendations of the Auditor General’s report, having recently announced a review into Ambulance Tasmania as part of our Patients First Action Plan.
The review, which is already underway, is primarily designed to look at innovative new solutions for expanding paramedic scope of practice and increasing capacity to treat more patients in the community, thereby reducing pressure on our emergency ambulance resources and busy hospital system.
The Government looks forward to further reviewing the findings of the Auditor General’s report and the ambulances services review, to strive for the best ambulance service possible.