South Australian patients and paramedics have spent 50,000 more hours on the ramp in three years of the Malinauskas Government than during the entire term of the Marshall Liberal Government – with February’s data set to cast another grim shadow over the health system under Labor.
Basic analysis shows that patients and paramedics have spent more than 125,000 hours stuck outside our hospitals on the ramp under Labor, or the equivalent of 14 years. This is compared to the 74,991 hours lost to the ramp during the entire four-year term of the former Liberal Government.
Leader of the Opposition, Vincent Tarzia said not only has Labor broken its key election promise to fix ramping, but the issue is now worse than anytime in South Australia’s history.
“Despite promising they would ‘fix the ramping crisis,’ ramping has only got worse under Labor and South Australians are sick of it,” Mr Tarzia said.
“This is a grim milestone for a Government that told South Australians to vote Labor like their lives depended on it – we’re now three years into their term and patients are still getting stuck on hospital ramps.
“Peter Malinauskas is quite simply failing South Australians in their time of need."
Shadow Minister for Health, Ashton Hurn said that the Government is failing South Australians who put their faith in Peter Malinauskas and took him at his word when he promised to fix ramping.
“The grim reality is that under Peter Malinauskas our health system isn’t healing, it’s on life support,” Mrs Hurn said.
"Far from delivering on their promise to fix ramping, the situation has never been worse than it has been under this Labor Government.
“Let’s not forget that 125,000 hours stuck on the ramp isn’t just a number – it represents thousands of sick South Australians and hardworking paramedics stuck sitting outside our hospitals waiting to get inside.
“Peter Malinauskas and Chris Picton are asking South Australians to be patient and to wait for the fix, but people have waited long enough.”
