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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2008-06-03 Daily Xml
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SA AMBULANCE SERVICE

The Hon. L. STEVENS (Little Para) (16:00): I was very pleased to hear the recent announcement by the Minister for Health of nearly $27 million over the next four years to SA Ambulance Service to pay for an extra 72 staff (which includes paramedics), additional ambulances and more equipment. I have always had the greatest respect for our ambulance service. As a former minister for health, I visited many stations to talk with staff about issues, their work and future plans.

However, in recent months I have had direct personal experience of the dedication and commitment to their job. As many members know, in December last year my husband suffered a serious heart scare at home. Soon after he felt unwell, he asked me to call an ambulance. The ambulance came, but on the way to the Lyell McEwin Hospital he suffered a cardiac arrest, which was managed en route by the crew—and Mike is here to tell the story. He is a very lucky man.

I put on record my thanks to the officers concerned. I am pleased that the Messenger newspaper took up this issue in National Heart Week a couple of weeks ago. When we spoke to the officers—Darren Brealey, Vashti Henderson and Andrew Martin—after things had calmed down at Lyell McEwin Hospital we were left in no doubt that if Mike had not been in an ambulance when he had the cardiac arrest he certainly would not be here to tell the story—and I would be saying different things today. I thank those officers, in particular, but I also pay tribute to all ambulance officers who are faced with serious situations.

I also pass on my thanks and appreciation to the staff of the Lyell McEwin Hospital and Ashford Hospital because Mike went on to have a double bypass operation—from which he has recovered. The other important thing—and the cardiologists have reiterated this—is that Mike was very fortunate in that for him everything was done correctly. He quickly recognised that something was seriously wrong. We got an ambulance quickly and the officers were there when the cardiac arrest occurred. The message for everyone is: do not muck around. If you know and feel that something is wrong, then you need to act quickly. You should not think, 'I will wait a few more minutes and it will be okay.'

A week or two ago we had our second experience with an ambulance. We had to travel from Tarlee to the Lyell McEwin Hospital on a Sunday. I travelled in the ambulance at that time. I have to say that, along with the driver, I was unbelievably stressed because of the number of motorists who did not pull over when the ambulance was coming behind them with its siren blaring and lights flashing. It was not just one or two motorists who were not getting out of the way but, rather, dozens of them. As we travelled from Tarlee on the country roads, through Gawler and along Main North Road, time after time, as the ambulance was coming from a long distance back with its siren blaring and lights flashing, people were just not moving. The final straw was when we were turning from Main North Road onto John Rice Avenue on its way to Lyell McEwin Hospital and someone pulled out in front of the ambulance.

I do not know why it happens. I do not know whether people are not aware of what is happening outside and they do not look in their rear vision mirror or whether they panic and do not know what to do when they are faced with that situation. I think it is time for greater awareness and greater education in terms of what one should do when placed in that situation. When an ambulance is transporting a person in a life-threatening situation, every second counts. I take off my hat to the driver who was under incredible stress while not only driving as fast as she could but also dealing with motorists who did not seem to know what was going on around them. We need to ensure that the community is fully aware of how they should act to help and not hinder.

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