Question Time

SA Ambulance Service

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Leader of the Opposition) (15:14): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Minister for Health and Wellbeing regarding health.

Leave granted.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: The Ambulance Employees Association reported yesterday morning that the family of an 11 year old with an uncontrolled haemorrhage called for an ambulance. No ambulance was available to respond, despite the priority 2 lights and sirens response required. Apparently, it took 34 minutes for the ambulance to arrive, which is more than double the 16-minute target time. My question to the minister is: why did an 11 year old with an uncontrolled haemorrhage have to wait 34 minutes for a priority ambulance to arrive yesterday?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (15:15): The claims by the head of the ambulance union this morning are somewhat difficult to follow up. The honourable member refers to an 11 year old. My recollection was that the claims in this morning's media related to a 10 year old. The SA Ambulance Service has identified not a client on Monday morning but a client on Sunday morning. On Sunday 2 May, a 10-year-old patient experienced a medical episode at a conservation park, and a 000 call was received at 11.05.

Any suggestion that the patient waited over 20 minutes for an ambulance response is simply incorrect. Any claim that the Ambulance Service didn't have an ambulance to cover is incorrect. The patient was triaged as a priority 1, and an ambulance and a solo extended care paramedic were immediately dispatched. The paramedic arrived, I am advised, with the patient in a difficult location in a conservation park, within 10 minutes of the call to SAAS. Extended care paramedics are highly trained paramedics who have a key role in delivering life-saving treatment. Solo paramedic response models are used around the world, and the approach is extremely effective.