The Malinauskas Labor Government is about halfway to reaching its ambitious target of recruiting an additional 350 ambos to bolster the state’s ambulance service.
Twenty-two more ambos have been deployed this week – a 16-paramedic 24/7 Woodville crew and a six-person Regional Medical Transfer Service crew at Gawler.
This takes the total to 171 new ambos since March last year.
These investments have seen Priority 2 lights and sirens response times in metro Adelaide improve from 36.2 per cent on time in January 2022, to 58.8 per cent in October 2023.
On top of this, the largest ever intake of paramedic interns in the state’s history has hit the road this week to boost capacity now and into the future.
Also, another 17 experienced paramedics have been recruited from interstate to bolster our ambulance workforce. They will be placed across the metropolitan and regional areas to provide support to existing crews.
Of the 48 paramedic interns, 43 will be based at metro stations and five at regional areas.
The new interns have spent the past five weeks completing induction and clinical education and will spend the next 12 months under supervised practice.
The Woodville 16-paramedic crew will be housed at the new $7.8 million Woodville Gardens station, with ground being broken at the site today and construction expected to be completed late next year.
While it is being built, the Woodville crew will be based at Port Adelaide.
Ground has now broken on the four of the Government’s 10 promised brand new ambulance stations.
Construction is underway at Port Augusta, Norwood, Edwardstown, and Woodville, while land has been secured for the remaining six in Golden Grove, Adelaide, Mount Barker, Gawler, Victor Harbor and Campbelltown.
They form part of a huge $187.2 million infrastructure boost to deliver brand new and completely rebuilt ambulance stations to support our hard-working ambos to care for South Australians.
This generational investment compliments the Government’s commitment to add 550 extra beds into our health system.
The new Woodville station is being built by Kennett and an estimated 10 workers on average per day will be onsite during construction.
Solar panels will be installed at the station, and the external design will harmoniously blend with the surroundings through carefully chosen materials and landscaping.
Artist impressions of the Woodville station can be found here.
The Regional Medical Transfer Service crew at Gawler will focus on low acuity transfers as well as emergency response.
As put by Peter Malinauskas
We’re doing everything we can to deliver on our commitment to get more ambos on the road – and it’s delivering results, with significant improvements year on year for ambulance response times.
We’re almost halfway to our recruitment target – and we’re achieving it by recruiting from interstate and bringing on an additional 48 interns – the largest internship intake in history.
It’s a great day for the Western suburbs as we celebrate the ground-breaking of another of our purpose-built ambulance stations, a crucial step toward reaching patients more swiftly.
Adding these two new crews in Woodville and Gawler will make a real difference to response times for South Australians calling Triple Zero in a crisis.
As put by Chris Picton
We are getting on with delivering our election commitments to help fix the ramping crisis and improve response times.
With convenient access to major roadways, this new station is poised to enhance response times throughout the metropolitan area, providing support to neighbouring busy stations such as Port Adelaide and Prospect.
Our ambulance plan is on track, and we are putting into action what paramedics told us they needed to deliver the very best in patient care.
This additional crewing will relieve pressure on our existing emergency crews and will positively impact patients of all priorities.
As put by Member for Cheltenham, Joe Szakacs MP
It is great to see the new 16-paramedic crew come online in Woodville to provide quality ambulance care for people in the western suburbs.
I am also excited to see ground breaking on the new ambulance station, which is much needed for Woodville and the surrounding area for years to come.
As put by SAAS Chief Executive Officer, Rob Elliott
We’re excited to have our largest ever single group of paramedic interns on board to help us to continue to provide the best possible emergency care to our South Australian communities.
This is part of a significant resourcing boost that will increase the number of paramedics available to respond to our patients.
This station is expected to make a significant difference in coverage not just across our inner-western suburbs, but across the broader metropolitan area.
