Regional Paramedics In The Spotlight

New Data released by the NSW Government has revealed that those that call an Ambulance in the Mudgee region are only seeing Paramedics arrive within the benchmark 15 minute around half of the time.



Dave Trusscott from The Australian Paramedics Association, says that statistics like this are risking patients’ lives.



“People who are calling an ambulance for a 'priority 1' job, that is the emergency response of ‘lights and sirens’. There only getting there about 40-50% of the time”.



He says “If you needed an ambulance quickly, it would only arrive on time about half the time, but minutes and seconds definitely do count”.



Mr Truscott also notes that while taking Industrial Action has not been ruled out, they usually keep that as a last resort.



The Association is asking the State Government for more staff to help bring those wait times down.

“The APA are generally asking for more paramedics. It’s plain and simple, we need more on-road staff, assistance medics, as well as education staff,”, he says.