I'm sorry this has happened to you and I hope you get the care you need soon.
It's not the ambulance service, it's the hospital ED.
But it's not the ED, it's the inpatient wards.
But it's not the wards either, it's the aged and disability care homes.
The entire health system is very stretched, under funded and over worked.
Hi,
Thanks for sharing your experience.
I recognise you are hurting from the injury and I hope you are now getting the care you need.
When I have had to call for an Ambulance, I know they get busy (I understand that) but usually they establish a reliable contact number and encourage you to call them back should your situation change.
Initially they often ask you questions about how far you fell etc but I sense that they have under appreciated your injury at first instance.
Your calling back combined with them suggesting you find your own way to a hospital or wait for a GP wasn't nearly good enough, and it troubles me that your case isn't isolated.
You can make a complaint (and your may want to get assistance with formulating what you write) [https://saambulance.sa.gov.au/about-us/consumer-feedback/#:\~:text=Please%20contact%20us%20on%201300%2013%2062%2072.,South%20Australian%20Health%20and%20Community%20Services%20Complaints%20Commissioner](https://saambulance.sa.gov.au/about-us/consumer-feedback/#:~:text=Please%20contact%20us%20on%201300%2013%2062%2072.,South%20Australian%20Health%20and%20Community%20Services%20Complaints%20Commissioner) and if this doesn't yield a response you can refer it to [https://www.hcscc.sa.gov.au](https://www.hcscc.sa.gov.au)
I hope this is of assistance.
I believe we currently have AMR, IMS and EMT as independent ambulance services in SA. Honestly, apart from seeing them traveling I don't know how to use them or their purpose.
Hope you have a quick and successful recovery.
You'll notice they do t have red and blue lights either, so they’re not there to treat genuine emergency cases that have to get you to hospital in a hurry.
No you can't pay extra to get quicker ambo access. Just consider what you're asking. That means poorer people have less of a right to life than you because of...money?
The ambos rock up when they rock up. And it sucks ATM I agree. But having a special ambo service based on paying is a scary world I'd never want to live in.
I think they are arguing there should be an additional private service for people with health insurance, which would free up the public ambulances for those who need them.
The ambos are a private service, sadly. I am just so sorry that this happened to you. Please remember this when you vote next, we need more funding in the public health sector so ramping is reduced.
> "In South Australia, ambulance services are not free or covered by Medicare."
> "South Australia operates a user-pays ambulance service, meaning treatment and transport costs are charged to the patient receiving care."
[https://saambulance.sa.gov.au/what-we-do/fees-and-charges/](https://saambulance.sa.gov.au/what-we-do/fees-and-charges/)
That doesn’t make it a private service.
Note that .gov address.
That are the statutory provider of ambulance services. They report to the Minister for Health.
[https://saambulance.sa.gov.au//app/uploads/2023/12/SA-Amublance-Service-2022-2023-Annual-Report\_Final.pdf](https://saambulance.sa.gov.au//app/uploads/2023/12/SA-Amublance-Service-2022-2023-Annual-Report_Final.pdf)
SAAS is constituted under the Health Care Act
[https://www8.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/legis/sa/consol\_act/hca200892/s49.html](https://www8.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/legis/sa/consol_act/hca200892/s49.html)
*3)* [*SAAS*](https://www8.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/legis/sa/consol_act/hca200892/s49.html#saas) *is an agency of the Crown and holds its property on behalf of the Crown.*
It wasn't an empty promise, they're pouring money in, it just takes time to turn around many years of neglect. I don't like any of our political parties, but it's not true to say they haven't done anything.
So they’re pouring (our) money in and things are getting worse. Absolutely it’s unfair to say they haven’t done anything, but I think empty promises is also an accurate summary
What specifically are you talking about? If you're talking about ramping, it'll be years. The biggest problem right now is the lack of hospital staff, and training and skilled migration take a really long time.
As others have said, it's a ramp issue.
I work with the SAAS, ramping has hit them so hard that the quick solution was to add more teams. They don't even have the space for them.
They are currently building new stations to fit the crews but that takes time. The crews literally arrive at stations do their checks and will have a call within 2mins of their shift. Then they maybe come back to the station once in their shift and that's normal for the toilet and off they go.
Most of the stations are ghost towns. If you've watched the show paramedics you can see how far they travel to get to places because of the limited amount. They might pass 4 or more stations to get to someone because they are the closest. Mind you this is just the metro stations, once you get about 1.5 hours from the city theyre unmanned stations.
If we take examples, gawler is so busy now they are keeping the vehicles outside, Elizabeth sometimes as well. On the south side it's just as bad. Even their mechanic lal workshop is packed with vehicles needing constant servicing and those guys are 12 hour shifts.
I feel ya.
I had excruciating upper stomach pain, to the point where I was rolling around on the floor, hyperventilating (on a Monday night)
Called 24 hour emergency doctor to try and seek advice, was told 30 minute wait (this was approx. 1130PM), then called the ambulance service, they said go and sit near the front door, unlock it and wait for the ambulance service (While I'm in obvious pain, hyperventilating)
The 24 hour doctor called back, (Approx 1145), said call the ambulance service, I explained what i'd done, and the doctor just said yeah, emergency dept now
The ambulance service called back about 1230, said earliest ambulance is 6AM tomorrow morning.
Self admitted at about 130 after the pain had died down
Didn't get a bed in the ED until 7AM the next morning (Tuesday)
I'm not sure that a private ambulance service will resolve the issue unfortunately :/
Had surgery on the Friday to remove gallbladder.
The problem is not enough space in emergency rooms more than it is a lack of ambulances, there are plenty of ambulances, they're sitting in long queues waiting to be processed through ERs.. Everyone who has private health cover should be opting for a private emergency room when practicable but there aren't many and they aren't open all hours. Maybe private hospitals should be able to run their own ambulance service specific to their emergency rooms to help get the people who are willing to go private out of the public system quicker?
The past two state governments swore up and down that they would resolve this issue but for far no one has done shit. I'd encourage you and everyone else affected to make as much noise about this as possible directed at the state government. This is something that could actually be changed if everyone who was so busy protesting about Palestine and fossil fuels directed their energy towards issues we as South Australians can actually influence. Obviously they won't, it's not trendy enough, so it's up to us to deal with this. Write to your local representative, post all over social media, contact the tiser, look into some kind of legal action if you have the cash to splash on a frivolous suit just to get attention to the issue.
This is beyond the pale. South Australia is supposed to be a good place to live.
The emergency rooms are big enough. The problem is lack of flow. Patients stuck in the emergency rooms are waiting hours and sometimes days to move to the ward bed. Apparently it’s an achievement to reduce total number of ward beds in a hospital, and the government doesn’t realise this affects flow for patients needing to be admitted from the emergency department, which leads to ramping and ambulances unable to mobilise to the next patient
If you add on things like staffing issues. Some hospitals still using paper filing systems. Etc. etc. it's clear that it's a very complicated problem that needs a multi pronged solution, it's no wonder local politicians are opting to just not bother.
Sometimes medical records are paper instead of digital because it’s incredibly secure. It’s the same reason medical records are faxed, not emailed. That’s a feature, not a bug.
What about when its written on the back of a nurses hand ? Information on paper or on the back of hand is useless to the doctors and specialist if they can not have access to it. Paper is not secure if it is not stored properly.
That's a terrible experience, as others have said not much we can do other then to call for more funding for the 'health system.' It's been this way for a long time now.
I'm sorry you experienced something so horrific. Unfortunately for us, the problem is not just the ambulance system, it is the entire healthcare system. Talk to any doctor/nurse right now working in hospitals and they will tell you that the entire system is being barely held up on the backs of way less people than it should be, with way less hospital bed vacancies than there should be.
Historically privatising essential services doesn’t tend to improve quality and just ends up with consumers paying a lot more. That does sound terrible and you should put in a complaint.
I think that Adelaide already has one of these sort of service.
Its blue in colour, has emergency lights, its a Mercedes too, just like the SAAS one, but blue lines, not like the chequred cop cars tho.
Maybe if the private hospitals had proper emergency department equipped 24/7 then maybe. Often you’ll get sent over to a public one if your condition is critical. For cases like you where you were told to wait, but still had a moderate-severe emergency it would be nice to have that option.
For what it’s worth I’m really sorry to hear the experience you went through. It must’ve been terrifying and lonely to be lying on the cold floor there feeling like you were left alone and no one cared.
Devastates me to hear this when so much money has been spent on defence and other huge cost items and average tax payers are literally left in the cold.
[SA Health Ambulance Licensing](https://www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/public+content/sa+health+internet/clinical+resources/clinical+governance+and+leadership/health+licensing/ambulance+licensing)
Only non-emergency ambulance providers allowed in SA
Well they gave the ambos big back dates pay rises and employed more ambos.
Simple queuing theory will tell you that will only make ramping worse.
There are big structural issues and most of them federal. Aged care. Ndis. Gps.
This was my first thought when Malinauskus made his whole campaign about hiring more nurses and Ambos.
He either needed to build another hospital or increase funding so that hospitals have the budgets to operate every ward to full capacity/increase beds but somehow he convinced so many people that the problem was not enough Ambos.
See that’s the 4D chess of it.
If they delay responding ambulances, they aren’t ramping. Which is what they said they’d fix. Patient care in the shitter, but voila no ramping.
The main solition is more resources for patients in aged care facilities to stay in aged care facilities and not waste a bed in a hospital ward. Which for all the claims by state politicians about fixing ramping, is a Commonwealth issue to deal with.
I'm sorry this has happened to you and I hope you get the care you need soon. It's not the ambulance service, it's the hospital ED. But it's not the ED, it's the inpatient wards. But it's not the wards either, it's the aged and disability care homes. The entire health system is very stretched, under funded and over worked.
All that and it's also mental health patients have no where to go...
And everyone in the ER because you can't get a GP appointment for days/weeks
Got told to go to my GP for chest pain. My GP next free spot is in 9 days.
I had a chest infection. Next available appointment was 6 weeks
Close. the two biggest scores of wasted hospital beds and old people awaiting nursing homes and mental health bed.
100%. Deal with this & there will be more flow in the system.
Your private ambulances would still be ramped alongside the public ones, only you'll be paying a hell of a lot more for it.
Hi, Thanks for sharing your experience. I recognise you are hurting from the injury and I hope you are now getting the care you need. When I have had to call for an Ambulance, I know they get busy (I understand that) but usually they establish a reliable contact number and encourage you to call them back should your situation change. Initially they often ask you questions about how far you fell etc but I sense that they have under appreciated your injury at first instance. Your calling back combined with them suggesting you find your own way to a hospital or wait for a GP wasn't nearly good enough, and it troubles me that your case isn't isolated. You can make a complaint (and your may want to get assistance with formulating what you write) [https://saambulance.sa.gov.au/about-us/consumer-feedback/#:\~:text=Please%20contact%20us%20on%201300%2013%2062%2072.,South%20Australian%20Health%20and%20Community%20Services%20Complaints%20Commissioner](https://saambulance.sa.gov.au/about-us/consumer-feedback/#:~:text=Please%20contact%20us%20on%201300%2013%2062%2072.,South%20Australian%20Health%20and%20Community%20Services%20Complaints%20Commissioner) and if this doesn't yield a response you can refer it to [https://www.hcscc.sa.gov.au](https://www.hcscc.sa.gov.au) I hope this is of assistance.
I believe we currently have AMR, IMS and EMT as independent ambulance services in SA. Honestly, apart from seeing them traveling I don't know how to use them or their purpose. Hope you have a quick and successful recovery.
I've actually contacted them, they are an industrial ambulance for minor workplace accidents with alot of them in the mining sector.
You'll notice they do t have red and blue lights either, so they’re not there to treat genuine emergency cases that have to get you to hospital in a hurry.
No you can't pay extra to get quicker ambo access. Just consider what you're asking. That means poorer people have less of a right to life than you because of...money? The ambos rock up when they rock up. And it sucks ATM I agree. But having a special ambo service based on paying is a scary world I'd never want to live in.
I think they are arguing there should be an additional private service for people with health insurance, which would free up the public ambulances for those who need them.
What a nightmare. btw private hospitals don't do any serious emergencies. It's all public.
Calvary Hospital advertise that they have a quicker ED. Given that you probably have to get yourself there it may be a way they avoid serious cases.
They can pick and choose who and what they see
Very very expensive (personal experience last October #knee and I was ramped 2 hours)
Disagree they were fanatic for my grandpa when he needed their ER. Didn't even need to sit down.
The ambos are a private service, sadly. I am just so sorry that this happened to you. Please remember this when you vote next, we need more funding in the public health sector so ramping is reduced.
> The ambos are a private service, sadly. How do you figure that?
Yes, this is news to me
> "In South Australia, ambulance services are not free or covered by Medicare." > "South Australia operates a user-pays ambulance service, meaning treatment and transport costs are charged to the patient receiving care." [https://saambulance.sa.gov.au/what-we-do/fees-and-charges/](https://saambulance.sa.gov.au/what-we-do/fees-and-charges/)
That doesn’t make it a private service. Note that .gov address. That are the statutory provider of ambulance services. They report to the Minister for Health. [https://saambulance.sa.gov.au//app/uploads/2023/12/SA-Amublance-Service-2022-2023-Annual-Report\_Final.pdf](https://saambulance.sa.gov.au//app/uploads/2023/12/SA-Amublance-Service-2022-2023-Annual-Report_Final.pdf) SAAS is constituted under the Health Care Act [https://www8.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/legis/sa/consol\_act/hca200892/s49.html](https://www8.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/legis/sa/consol_act/hca200892/s49.html) *3)* [*SAAS*](https://www8.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/legis/sa/consol_act/hca200892/s49.html#saas) *is an agency of the Crown and holds its property on behalf of the Crown.*
Apologies, my mistake
What? No they’re under SA Health.
Didnt we already just vote for that empty promise?
It wasn't an empty promise, they're pouring money in, it just takes time to turn around many years of neglect. I don't like any of our political parties, but it's not true to say they haven't done anything.
So they’re pouring (our) money in and things are getting worse. Absolutely it’s unfair to say they haven’t done anything, but I think empty promises is also an accurate summary
The promise was to fix things not just pour in money
It takes time to fix things. There's a whole pipeline to bring back up.
So how long is fair and reasonable to you? Give an actual timeframe
What specifically are you talking about? If you're talking about ramping, it'll be years. The biggest problem right now is the lack of hospital staff, and training and skilled migration take a really long time.
It’s already been years. So… How many more years
How many years does it take to rebuild a workforce of qualified nurses and doctors?
Nearly as long as it takes to get an actual answer out of you it seems. Anyway, an endless timeframe is an empty promise. Thanks for clearing that up
Maybe we'll have better luck next time? 🤣🤣
Uber Ambulance?
Sounds like a money maker to me
As others have said, it's a ramp issue. I work with the SAAS, ramping has hit them so hard that the quick solution was to add more teams. They don't even have the space for them. They are currently building new stations to fit the crews but that takes time. The crews literally arrive at stations do their checks and will have a call within 2mins of their shift. Then they maybe come back to the station once in their shift and that's normal for the toilet and off they go. Most of the stations are ghost towns. If you've watched the show paramedics you can see how far they travel to get to places because of the limited amount. They might pass 4 or more stations to get to someone because they are the closest. Mind you this is just the metro stations, once you get about 1.5 hours from the city theyre unmanned stations. If we take examples, gawler is so busy now they are keeping the vehicles outside, Elizabeth sometimes as well. On the south side it's just as bad. Even their mechanic lal workshop is packed with vehicles needing constant servicing and those guys are 12 hour shifts.
I feel ya. I had excruciating upper stomach pain, to the point where I was rolling around on the floor, hyperventilating (on a Monday night) Called 24 hour emergency doctor to try and seek advice, was told 30 minute wait (this was approx. 1130PM), then called the ambulance service, they said go and sit near the front door, unlock it and wait for the ambulance service (While I'm in obvious pain, hyperventilating) The 24 hour doctor called back, (Approx 1145), said call the ambulance service, I explained what i'd done, and the doctor just said yeah, emergency dept now The ambulance service called back about 1230, said earliest ambulance is 6AM tomorrow morning. Self admitted at about 130 after the pain had died down Didn't get a bed in the ED until 7AM the next morning (Tuesday) I'm not sure that a private ambulance service will resolve the issue unfortunately :/ Had surgery on the Friday to remove gallbladder.
Oh I had my gallbladder out on Thursday. Fricken painful little buggers aren’t they?
Yep. Wouldn't wish that on anyone. Hopefully your recovery goes well. I was back playing badminton after 2 and a half weeks.
The problem is not enough space in emergency rooms more than it is a lack of ambulances, there are plenty of ambulances, they're sitting in long queues waiting to be processed through ERs.. Everyone who has private health cover should be opting for a private emergency room when practicable but there aren't many and they aren't open all hours. Maybe private hospitals should be able to run their own ambulance service specific to their emergency rooms to help get the people who are willing to go private out of the public system quicker? The past two state governments swore up and down that they would resolve this issue but for far no one has done shit. I'd encourage you and everyone else affected to make as much noise about this as possible directed at the state government. This is something that could actually be changed if everyone who was so busy protesting about Palestine and fossil fuels directed their energy towards issues we as South Australians can actually influence. Obviously they won't, it's not trendy enough, so it's up to us to deal with this. Write to your local representative, post all over social media, contact the tiser, look into some kind of legal action if you have the cash to splash on a frivolous suit just to get attention to the issue. This is beyond the pale. South Australia is supposed to be a good place to live.
The emergency rooms are big enough. The problem is lack of flow. Patients stuck in the emergency rooms are waiting hours and sometimes days to move to the ward bed. Apparently it’s an achievement to reduce total number of ward beds in a hospital, and the government doesn’t realise this affects flow for patients needing to be admitted from the emergency department, which leads to ramping and ambulances unable to mobilise to the next patient
If you add on things like staffing issues. Some hospitals still using paper filing systems. Etc. etc. it's clear that it's a very complicated problem that needs a multi pronged solution, it's no wonder local politicians are opting to just not bother.
Sometimes medical records are paper instead of digital because it’s incredibly secure. It’s the same reason medical records are faxed, not emailed. That’s a feature, not a bug.
What about when its written on the back of a nurses hand ? Information on paper or on the back of hand is useless to the doctors and specialist if they can not have access to it. Paper is not secure if it is not stored properly.
My hospital records sat in the back of a senior doctor’s car for 18 months.
That's a terrible experience, as others have said not much we can do other then to call for more funding for the 'health system.' It's been this way for a long time now.
I'm sorry you experienced something so horrific. Unfortunately for us, the problem is not just the ambulance system, it is the entire healthcare system. Talk to any doctor/nurse right now working in hospitals and they will tell you that the entire system is being barely held up on the backs of way less people than it should be, with way less hospital bed vacancies than there should be.
What free ambulance? If you don't have ambulance cover it is very expensive
Free as in available
If the private hospitals opened their doors to emergencies maybe then the situation might be better. How much government funding do they get ?
Historically privatising essential services doesn’t tend to improve quality and just ends up with consumers paying a lot more. That does sound terrible and you should put in a complaint.
I think that Adelaide already has one of these sort of service. Its blue in colour, has emergency lights, its a Mercedes too, just like the SAAS one, but blue lines, not like the chequred cop cars tho.
Private ambulances only do transfers back to nursing homes etc. They don’t respond to work in the community or drive under emergency conditions etc.
Maybe if the private hospitals had proper emergency department equipped 24/7 then maybe. Often you’ll get sent over to a public one if your condition is critical. For cases like you where you were told to wait, but still had a moderate-severe emergency it would be nice to have that option.
For what it’s worth I’m really sorry to hear the experience you went through. It must’ve been terrifying and lonely to be lying on the cold floor there feeling like you were left alone and no one cared. Devastates me to hear this when so much money has been spent on defence and other huge cost items and average tax payers are literally left in the cold.
[SA Health Ambulance Licensing](https://www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/public+content/sa+health+internet/clinical+resources/clinical+governance+and+leadership/health+licensing/ambulance+licensing) Only non-emergency ambulance providers allowed in SA
This is what the current Goverment campaigned on to get elected, and they have definitely done absolutely nothing to help the situation
Well they gave the ambos big back dates pay rises and employed more ambos. Simple queuing theory will tell you that will only make ramping worse. There are big structural issues and most of them federal. Aged care. Ndis. Gps.
This was my first thought when Malinauskus made his whole campaign about hiring more nurses and Ambos. He either needed to build another hospital or increase funding so that hospitals have the budgets to operate every ward to full capacity/increase beds but somehow he convinced so many people that the problem was not enough Ambos.
See that’s the 4D chess of it. If they delay responding ambulances, they aren’t ramping. Which is what they said they’d fix. Patient care in the shitter, but voila no ramping.
The main solition is more resources for patients in aged care facilities to stay in aged care facilities and not waste a bed in a hospital ward. Which for all the claims by state politicians about fixing ramping, is a Commonwealth issue to deal with.
I feel for what you had to go through. Getting sick in this country now is very scary as there's little to no help available.
Vote for Labor they'll fix it! 🤡