AMBULANCES are spending more than 700 hours a month waiting to hand over patients at Northern Hospital, in statistics released under the Freedom of Information Act.
Documents obtained by Ambulance Victoria reveal “ramping” times at the hospital are rising.
Ramping refers to the time interval from when an ambulance arrives at the hospital destination until the patient is transferred from the ambulance stretcher to hospital staff.
Statistics show that from July 1, 2011 to March 31, 2012 ambulances were ramping for 772 hours a month, while from July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011 they were ramping for 632 hours a month.
Ambulance Victoria’s general manager regional services Tony Walker said ramping delays can impact 000 call responses.
Ambulance Victoria transports around 1750 patients to hospitals every day, with the number of patients transported increasing from 616,982 in 2009/10 to 639,735 in 2010/11.
Mr Walker said Ambulance Victoria worked closely with the Department of Health and hospitals to minimise the ambulance’s time required at hospitals with patients.
Executive director medical and continuing care at Northern Health Robynne Cooke said Northern Hospital’s emergency department treated 1300 patients a week and aimed to keep ramping times to a minimum.
“Our patients are treated through a triage system where patients requiring immediate care are seen to first.”
Ms Cooke said planning works were under way as part of a $24.5 million redevelopment of the emergency department and special care nursery at Northern Hospital with the aim of improving access to services.
Health Minister David Davis said $151 million was being spent to hire 340 more ambulance staff, and a new board had been appointed to “improve performance”.
