BATHURST paramedics are short-staffed, according to their union, but have still managed to achieve a percentage of on-time ambulance arrivals to emergency calls that is higher than the state average.
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From January to March 2024, 55.3 per cent of ambulances dispatched to P1 (emergency) jobs arrived within the recommended time of 15 minutes from when the call was first answered.
The data, released by the Bureau of Health Information (BHI) on May 29, 2024, shows Bathurst's results for "call to ambulance arrival" were better than the NSW average of 48.4 per cent.
Bathurst's results were also better than the response times for Orange and Dubbo.
It was also the best result the Bathurst Health Service had recorded since the period of April to June in 2022, when it was sitting at 57.5 per cent.
However, there's been a clear decline in trends since BHI records began in 2010, when the percentage of emergency arrivals within the recommended time in Bathurst was 78.5 per cent.
Bathurst paramedic and Health Services Union delegate Phil Livingstone said the city continues to experience a shortage of paramedics, which doesn't help the situation.
"For the last six months, we've had at least one or two people on overtime every 24 hours," he said.
"Everyone likes extra money, but sometimes you need a break, but then if you don't [cover the shift], the resource isn't there."
Mr Livingstone said there are other factors the data might not take into consideration, such as paramedics being caught up at the hospital with patients because the emergency department is too busy.
As well, Bathurst services areas such as Hill End and Rockley, which are locations that can't be reached within the 15-minute timeframe.
"We get jobs at Hill End, so that time of call to time of scene is 50 minutes," Mr Livingstone said.
Help is on the way
While there has been a serious staffing shortage for quite some time, the countdown is on for a bit of respite.
Under the Labor Government's Regional 500 scheme, which was promised in 2022 provided the party won the 2023 state election, Bathurst will welcome 12 additional paramedics to the team at the end of June, 2024.
This will take the local staff tally from 24 to 36, and go a long way to mitigating the fatigue many paramedics are experiencing.
Mr Livingstone said the full rosters will mean no paramedics will be on-call between shifts. Instead, there will be a fresh crew on during this period.
This enhancement could also see ambulance statistics improve for Bathurst in future BHI quarterly results.
"These extra resources will further support NSW Ambulance to deliver optimal health outcomes for these regional communities," a NSW Ambulance spokesperson said.
NSW Ambulance pleased with results
Paramedics in Bathurst and NSW were commended by NSW Ambulance for their efforts during the January to March 2024 quarter, especially given the increased responses required.
Overall, Bathurst paramedics responded to 2676 calls - an increase of 4.7 per cent when compared with the same period the previous year.
Across the state, there were 383,341 ambulance responses, the most since BHI began reporting, and an increase of 35,621 - or 10.2 per cent - compared with the same period in 2023.
"NSW Ambulance clinicians and Control Centre staff continued to provide outstanding care to the community, despite record demand for ambulance services for the sixth consecutive quarter," a NSW Ambulance spokesperson said.
"We sincerely thank our highly skilled and dedicated staff who continued to perform well throughout this busy and challenging period."