South Australians are spending longer stuck in ambulances outside the emergency department. But the State Government insists the situation is improving, and it's coming up with creative solutions to help reduce overcrowding at hospitals.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00 Under pressure to rein in hospital delays, the health ministers found this winter was
00:06 better than the last.
00:08 We saw a 9% decrease in the amount of ramping hours that happened over that time and an
00:13 increase of ambulance response times.
00:15 But the monthly statistics tell a different story.
00:18 Ramping has been on the rise again.
00:20 The latest data shows an additional 400 hours were wasted in August, with figures approaching
00:26 4,000 hours for the month.
00:29 The opposition again claiming the government isn't pulling enough strings to improve ramping.
00:34 Month after month after month we're seeing it at record levels and that's a real problem
00:39 because what it means is that South Australians are paying the price.
00:42 We are starting to see improvements in reduction happening but we know that there's a lot more
00:47 that needs to happen as well.
00:49 The government struck a deal with a residential care provider in Elizabeth South in Adelaide's
00:53 North, opening up 24 beds to transition recovering elderly patients out of crowded hospitals
01:00 faster.
01:01 We've only opened up three weeks ago and the demand is absolutely unbelievable, both from
01:07 residents who want to come in here as well as people, workers.
01:13 Patients will stay in adapted rooms for an average of two weeks, sharing facilities with
01:18 others in a more home-like environment until they're discharged.
01:22 I've had a lot of time in and out of hospital and I feel this is preparing me to go home
01:27 much much better than it has before.
01:30 Ten people are currently using the beds and the rest will be rolled out in stages.
01:34 ACH Group says it would be interested in expanding the program to other areas if it's successful.
01:40 [BLANK_AUDIO]