Big rise in ambulance service centre calls

The number of calls handled by WA's ambulance service surged almost 14 per cent in the past year to more than half a million cases.

St John Ambulance's latest annual report showed that its State Operations Centre handled 507,200 calls in 2012-13 compared with 446,000 in the previous year. It included 172,000 emergency triple zero calls.

The centre operates 24 hours a day and receives all emergency triple zero calls requiring ambulances. It is also responsible for managing responses to all ambulance incidents in WA.

Metropolitan ambulances responded to 194,445 cases, a 5.2 per cent increase on the previous year. Ambulance activity across the State rose 6 per cent.

Chief executive Tony Ahern said in the annual report the service had performed well against significant growth - and despite an almost doubling of hours of ambulance ramping, which is when crews have to wait outside busy hospital emergency departments so they can hand over their patients.

He said ambulances met their response time targets in priority categories in 2012-13.

On average, 92.3 per cent of priority-one calls were responded to within the 15-minute target, compared with 88.9 per cent in 2011-12.

Figures also showed 92.1 per cent of priority-two calls were reached within the 25-minute target and 95.9 per cent of priority-three calls were responded to within the 60-minute target.

St John Ambulance credited an ambulance surge capacity unit set up at Hollywood Private Hospital in May for easing ramping at major hospitals.

It treated 221 patients in its first seven weeks.

But though the report also showed that patient surveys revealed high levels of satisfaction with the service and its staff, complaints per 10,000 cases grew from 5.3 to 6.3 in the 12 months.

More than 40 clinical event investigations were carried out, with one adverse event recommendation implemented.