Vica Bayley MP | Member for Clark
Dozens of Tasmanians have shared their harrowing stories with the Parliamentary Inquiry into ambulance ramping, with submissions made to the inquiry now published online and publicly available for the first time.
The devastating accounts from patients, families, paramedics, nurses, doctors, and others paint a stark picture of the terrible impacts ramping is having on our community. Tragically, we know the submissions to the inquiry are only the tip of the iceberg, with an average of nearly 2000 people now subjected to ramping every month in Tasmania.
It’s incredibly distressing to read so many awful situations experienced by Tasmanians. In these stories we have patients being put at greater risk while waiting for hours for appropriate care; families being separated from their loved ones while they pass away in pain; young mental health patients escaping to try and take their own life; patients accidentally overdosing on painkillers provided by the hospital; serious mental health impacts on staff; the flow on impact of ambulances not being available to respond when needed - the awful list goes on.
Disturbingly, we know situations like this are becoming more common every year, with ambulance ramping occurring five times more often now than it did in 2015, and waiting times for patients extending further and further.
Despite the obvious harm ramping is causing to so many Tasmanians, the Liberals have been downplaying how serious things are and doing their best to cover up the full extent of the issue. This denial and secrecy is exactly why the Greens moved to establish this Parliamentary Inquiry, and we are hopeful it can help to drive real, positive change.
The Greens offer our deepest thanks to all those who bravely shared their story about ambulance ramping with this inquiry, and we are committed to doing everything in our power to make sure the government takes notice and finally starts taking action.
A collation of key excerpts from submissions to the inquiry is available here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YkipxOpOc8PallN77klQIT_UiOcu6Trf/view?u...
A list of all submissions, the inquiry's members, and the terms of reference are available here: https://www.parliament.tas.gov.au/committees/house-of-assembly/select-co...