South Australia's ambulance union is calling for an extension to the health department's code yellow alert which is set to lift today.
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00:00South Australia's Ambulance Employees Association says 56 ambulances were ramped outside five
00:08of the state's public hospitals on Wednesday, while 23 priority emergency cases, which should
00:13have been attended to within 16 minutes, were left unanswered.
00:18The union's General Secretary, Leah Watkins, says she's not aware of any deaths resulting
00:22from a delayed ambulance on Wednesday, but says paramedics feel demoralised facing delays
00:27similar to when South Australia had began to allow interstate travel in early 2022,
00:33and has described the state's entire hospital network as absolutely crippled.
00:37These claims from the union follow data which showed South Australians lost more than 5,500
00:43hours to ramping in July, which was an all-time high.
00:47Ms Watkins is now pleading for an extension of the code yellow or internal emergency at
00:52the state's public hospitals, which she says will relieve pressure on other priority resources.
00:58The code yellow in South Australia has been in place now for more than two months, and
01:02has also delayed more than 800 elective surgeries.
01:06The ABC received a statement from the health department's CEO, Dr Robin Lawrence, who said
01:11the code yellow is set to end today as planned.
01:14She said that patients who need the most care are always treated first, and says initiatives
01:19such as opening more beds and hiring more staff will improve patient flow.