Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / St John Director of Ambulance Services Andrew Thomas says the average response time for emergencies was 23.6 minutes last financial year due to the flu and increasing workloads

Transcript

St John Director of Ambulance Services Andrew Thomas says the average response time for emergencies was 23.6 minutes last financial year due to the flu and increasing workloads · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: We do know that ambulance response times in Darwin are
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: sitting at their highest level in ten years. That's according
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: to a new report from the Australian Productivity Commission, which
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  Speaker 1: says that the average weight times was twenty three point
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  Speaker 1: six minutes last financial year. That's two minutes longer than
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  Speaker 1: the previous year. Now joining me to break down the
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  Speaker 1: numbers is Andrew Thomas, who is Saint John's Director of
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  Speaker 1: Ambulance Services. Good morning to you, Andrew.
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  Speaker 2: And a good morning to you Kadie.
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  Speaker 1: Great to have you on the show. Andrew, there has
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  Speaker 1: obviously been that increase in wait times for territories. What's
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  Speaker 1: the cause of the increased waight times it.
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  Speaker 2: Look I think it's important to know. And while it
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  Speaker 2: sounds like there's been a dramatic increase in the wait times,
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  Speaker 2: the time that comes through there as being reported, is
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  Speaker 2: the time that it is to get to ninety percent
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  Speaker 2: of calls. So that in the last twelve months across
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  Speaker 2: anial centers across Australia, there's been significant increases in terms
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  Speaker 2: of workload and that relates to the high demand related
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  Speaker 2: to COVID nineteen. We had a really bad flu season
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  Speaker 2: and there's a lot of other impacts on the health
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  Speaker 2: system that are meaning that obviously at times it's taking
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  Speaker 2: longer for our crews to get to cases. But you know,
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  Speaker 2: we in looking at that and that the Productivity Commission
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  Speaker 2: looks at all services across Australia and tries to compare
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  Speaker 2: them in some way. You know, we're actually the third
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  Speaker 2: quickest service across Australia behind ACT and WA. So while
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  Speaker 2: the times have extended slightly in terms of getting those
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  Speaker 2: average the ninetieth percent of cases, you know, obviously we're
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  Speaker 2: still you know, getting to our people as quick as
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  Speaker 2: we can and we you know, obviously you know that's
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  Speaker 2: indicative of an increase in our workloads. So you know,
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  Speaker 2: we've seen workload across that twelve month reporting period across
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  Speaker 2: the Northern Territory increased by twenty one percent, so cases
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  Speaker 2: have gone from around fifty four thousand to sixty six
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  Speaker 2: thousand over that twelve month period.
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  Speaker 1: And Andrew, when you talk about those response times, does
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  Speaker 1: that include your really critical patience or are you getting
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  Speaker 1: out to them faster?
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  Speaker 2: So that response times is off for all of our
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  Speaker 2: what we call our priority one cases. So that's the
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  Speaker 2: ones where you see and hear the mbulance going lights
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  Speaker 2: and siren. So it is a national way that we
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  Speaker 2: look at response times and while the other figure that's
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  Speaker 2: looked at around that is what it takes to get
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  Speaker 2: to fifty percent of our cases. And you know, again
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  Speaker 2: we were the third quickest across the across Australia with
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  Speaker 2: us getting to fifty percent of our cases within just
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  Speaker 2: over eleven minutes for an emergency job. So obviously we
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  Speaker 2: understand that when people are calling trippers zero and you
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  Speaker 2: know it is a bad situation and you know they've
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  Speaker 2: got an emergency evolving in front of themselves there that
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  Speaker 2: they want to have an ambulance there as soon as possible.
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  Speaker 2: You know, obviously we're trying to resource and make sure
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  Speaker 2: that we've got crews to respond. But you know, obviously
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  Speaker 2: increasing workloads and pressures and demand from the health system
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  Speaker 2: are flying into some delays. So we're continuing to work
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  Speaker 2: at how we can do about putting on extra cruise,
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  Speaker 2: how we can work with the hospital about freeing up resources,
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  Speaker 2: and you know, looking at our staffing and the opportunities
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  Speaker 2: to improve to obviously work through those quick response times.
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  Speaker 2: And I think the other important thing is to remember
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  Speaker 2: with when you do call Triple zero, is that while
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  Speaker 2: the ambulance is coming and it's on its way, is
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  Speaker 2: that there is health advice and that emergency care being
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  Speaker 2: operated by provided by our amazing call takers, that you
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  Speaker 2: start that level of care while.
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  Speaker 1: We're on our Waid Andrew, we have been talking a
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  Speaker 1: lot about alcohol on the show show in recent days.
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  Speaker 1: Are there a lot of alcohol related call outs for
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  Speaker 1: Saint John's as well? And does that have an impact
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  Speaker 1: when you talk about those response times.
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  Speaker 2: Because I think we've seen an increase across all sectors
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  Speaker 2: of these case load that we go to. You know,
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  Speaker 2: we've seen you know, our highest category of case that
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  Speaker 2: we attend to is what and it sounds a bit
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  Speaker 2: ironic when you say, but it's what we call a
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  Speaker 2: sick person, which is a code that which puts in
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  Speaker 2: and covers a raft of sort of more minor medical
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  Speaker 2: ailments and whatever else. But you know, we have seen increase,
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  Speaker 2: for instance, in assaults over the last twelve months. And
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  Speaker 2: you know, we've seen that increases in particularly in around
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  Speaker 2: respiratory cases. That equates to some of the as I said,
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  Speaker 2: the flu and the COVID nineteen cases. So we've seen
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  Speaker 2: that dramatic sort arise across all of our areas and
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  Speaker 2: whatever else, which is that you know, the productivity report
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  Speaker 2: there when it tries to compare things, is that on
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  Speaker 2: average per thousand population, so John is responding to two
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  Speaker 2: hundred and sixty seven cases per thousand population, which is
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  Speaker 2: the second highest in Australia. Only to plan that there's
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  Speaker 2: a higher level. It shows that our crews are doing
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  Speaker 2: lots of responses and that you know, in very difficult
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  Speaker 2: and trying times. And so you know, our paramedics and
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  Speaker 2: our patient transport offices and our comms guys are doing
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  Speaker 2: an amazing job with the increased pressure that they're going on,
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  Speaker 2: and we're doing the best we can to get to
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  Speaker 2: people as quick as we can. And obviously, you know,
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  Speaker 2: we're continuing to try and find ways that we make
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  Speaker 2: sure that we're there to respond we're needed.
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  Speaker 1: I was going to ask and Andrew, is they sort
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  Speaker 1: of work underway to see whether those response times can
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  Speaker 1: be improved to any degree or do you feel as
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  Speaker 1: those things might level out a little bit more as
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  Speaker 1: you know, as the concerns around covid us starting to
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  Speaker 1: sort of you know, I guess to minimize.
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  Speaker 2: Well, I think while and while we've spoken around that
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  Speaker 2: the impacts of COVID, you know, saw us with some
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  Speaker 2: some of the delays, and that a lot of that
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  Speaker 2: was related to the extra ppe and the decontamination processes
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  Speaker 2: that our crews are going through through that period of time,
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  Speaker 2: as well as obviously the caseload that came from there.
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  Speaker 2: But we're continuing to see an escalation in our workload
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  Speaker 2: and it's you know, that growth in workload. It will continue.
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  Speaker 2: So we're working about putting on extra cruise. We're actively
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  Speaker 2: recruiting across Australia and you know, each and every ambulance
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  Speaker 2: service at the moment is recruiting paramedics like crazy because
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  Speaker 2: they're all in a similar boat where they're seeing that
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  Speaker 2: escalation of workload. But you know, we're looking to try
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  Speaker 2: and a track people to the territory. We've got the
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  Speaker 2: universities that are up here that are now producing the
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  Speaker 2: students who are studying paramedicine up here. They're all in
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  Speaker 2: their last the first cohort in both the universities are
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  Speaker 2: now in last year and you know, so we'll hopefully
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  Speaker 2: see some territory trained and territory local staff coming into
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  Speaker 2: the next someone else that you know, it will allow
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  Speaker 2: us to build our capacity and put on those extra
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  Speaker 2: resources to meet demand.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Andrew, I appreciate your time this morning. Look, I
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  Speaker 1: know that there'll be some people listening who are thinking,
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  Speaker 1: oh goodness me. You know, how are we in a
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  Speaker 1: situation where our response times are sitting at the highest
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  Speaker 1: level in ten years. But as you've touched on, there
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  Speaker 1: does sound as though there's a lot of factors at play.
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  Speaker 1: It also sounds like there is quite a bit of
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  Speaker 1: work underway and those staffing issues right across sort of
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  Speaker 1: our health sectors at the moment seem to be having
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  Speaker 1: a big impact.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, they do. And you know, as I said, I
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  Speaker 2: think we're all working and you know understand that we're
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  Speaker 2: all trying to address you know, that capacity to manage
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  Speaker 2: the escalation in health requirements and you know, so we're
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  Speaker 2: working with that. But I think the other important thing
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  Speaker 2: that came out of that report was that you know,
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  Speaker 2: we had one of the highest patient satisfaction levels of
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  Speaker 2: any service across Australia, with ninety nine percent of people
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  Speaker 2: that were surveyed independently showed that they rated the care
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  Speaker 2: and the satisfaction in our paramedics as good or very good.
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  Speaker 2: So you know, I think we're obviously delivering high quality
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  Speaker 2: care to the staff and that and that's our role
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  Speaker 2: and that's what we want to continue to do well.
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  Speaker 1: Saint John's Director of Ambulance Services, Andrew Thomas. I really
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  Speaker 1: appreciate your time this morning. Thank you very much for
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  Speaker 1: having a chat with us.
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  Speaker 2: Thanks Statie, thank you