SA paramedics threaten more industrial action over ramping
SA paramedics threaten more industrial action over ramping
Frustrated paramedics are threatening to reopen the industrial dispute over ambulance ramping at Flinders Medical Centre.
The Ambulance union said while the situation has slightly improved, ramping is still very much an issue at the hospital.
It claims there is at least one case a week where patients are forced to wait in the back of ambulances, at times up to two hours before being taken inside.
On Tuesday night, as many as seven ambulances were queued at Flinders.
It has been 15 months since the state government agreed to adopt all 52 recommendations of an independent report into ramping.
In August Health Minister Jack SNelling insisted he was looking into solutions including a ‘surge space’ inside the hospital where patients wait to be treated.
Robert Morton head of the SA Ambulance Service said it is committed to fixing the situation, but industrial action was not the answer.
“We understand the frustration that our workforce feel around this,” he said.
“We all need to focus on patient safety and I do believe our staff have that at the core of what they’re saying however industrial action is not necessarily a solution.”
The union said if things do not improve significantly before Christmas, it will head back to the industrial relations commission and even consider industrial action.
