Data obtained by the ABC has revealed ambulance ramping has increased significantly in recent years in the Northern Territory. Patients are currently being left in ambulances outside hospitals longer than ever before leaving paramedics unable to respond to other emergencies.
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00:00Ramping occurs when ambulances are unable to offload patients at emergency departments
00:07because there's no capacity.
00:10Data shows average turnaround times, the time from when an ambulance arrives at a hospital
00:15until they can respond to the next case, has increased by 77% at Royal Darwin Hospital
00:21over the past 11 years, going from 26 minutes in 2014 to 46 minutes this year.
00:29This is the longest individual transfer, taking three and a half hours.
00:34It is a big problem.
00:35It is a big problem, particularly for that patient and those families.
00:39We, that's not the ideal place to provide care.
00:42Looking at territory hospitals as a whole, the average turnaround time has increased
00:46by 50%, from 24 minutes in 2014 to 36 minutes in 2024.
00:53It's leaving paramedics unable to get back on the road within their 30-minute turnaround
00:58target.
00:59There are a number of times where nearly all of the ambulance crews in Darwin are held
01:04at the hospital there, unable to offload their patients, and therefore that leads to extended
01:09response times.
01:11Ramping is just one of many issues facing Royal Darwin Hospital and others around the
01:16NT.
01:17The Chief Minister calling for more Commonwealth funding.
01:21We don't get the full funding that we should be getting for our hospitals in the Northern
01:24Territory.
01:25Now, ramping isn't a problem unique to the Territory, but it highlights a need for urgent
01:30changes to the NT health system.