In Victoria, taxis are used in some cases to take a patient to the hospital if their condition is less urgent, or they do not need any pre-hospital care, and there is no other means of private transportation. Taxis are not used in Victoria for patients in the emergency room or whose conditions require supervision.
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In this state, a clinical response model was implemented between 2015 and 2016 to manage “some types of events that previously received an automatic emergency response,” but are now being processed through a secondary triage process.
Data from the Office of Health Information show that there were about 347,000 calls to NSW Ambulance in the last quarter of 2021, the second highest call volume of any quarter in the last decade.
“NSW ambulance paramedics will continue to provide outpatient care to patients in need of transportation to the hospital’s emergency department … and [we] Continue to demand that the community only call triple zero if they suffer a medical emergency, “said an NSW ambulance spokesman.
During the state’s first Omicron wave, NSW Ambulance expanded its Virtual Clinical Care Center (VCCC) in Gladesville to cope with a sharp increase in triple zero calls.
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“When an ambulance is not required immediately, experienced VCCC physicians perform secondary triage to better understand the patient’s needs,” according to the NSW government’s e-health website.
The Union of Health Services (HSU), which includes 3300 paramedics as members, said the VCCC was another resource to help “people get the medical care they need.”
“We should do everything we can to reduce unnecessary pressure on ambulances. Increased calls and demand within a limited workforce means we have a perfect storm,” said HSU Secretary Gerard Hayes.
“Obviously, everyone who has to go to the hospital should do it. But fully equipped ambulances should be used for cases of medium and high acuity.”
An NSW ambulance spokesman said 750 paramedics and control center staff had been hired as part of the statewide workforce improvement program, which was soon completed as part of the increase in COVID staff.
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard attended the opening of a 12-storey clinical services building at Campbelltown Hospital on Thursday, which will increase hospital bed capacity by more than 50%. will offer expanded health services.
Prime Minister Dominic Perrottet said he was pleased to see a “written order item” first written in the 2017 state budget. “This will be a game changer for West Sydney when patients start come out in June, “he said.
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