New era for Queensland Ambulance Service

Queenslanders will have better emergency health services following today’s structural alignment of the Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) with Queensland Health.

Health Minister Lawrence Springborg said the move was in line with recommendations handed down in the Keelty Review three weeks ago.

“Around 85 per cent of all QAS tasks are directly linked with Queensland Health so it makes sense that they work more closely,” Mr Springborg said.

“We have already aligned QAS regions to Queensland Health hospital and health service boundaries which has yielded some great results.

“Ambulance turnaround times in south east Queensland have been cut by around 12 minutes and Code 1 emergency response times are also down.”

Mr Springborg said this was the next step in ensuring a better health service for all Queenslanders.

“The fact is, reports dating back to 2007 recommended realigning QAS with Queensland Health,” he said.

“Unfortunately Labor repeatedly ignored the advice, instead delivering a legacy of lost ambulance hours and ramping.

“The actions taken by our government, including implementing the Metropolitan Emergency Department Access Initiative (MEDAI) and realigning QAS boundaries, have significantly improved patient services.

“This next step will further improve health services and build on the excellent work delivered by our frontline workers.”

Meeting with QAS staff at Kedron today, Mr Springborg said he was looking forward to meeting and working with the more than 4,000 ambulance workers around the State.

QAS Commissioner Russell Bowles said the move to Queensland Health would bring QAS into line with other ambulance services around Australia.

“It also gives the QAS a tremendous opportunity to build on an already excellent service which is highly valued by the Queensland community,” Mr Bowles said. 

“The merger recognises that Queensland Health and QAS have worked together as partners for a long time to identify a range of initiatives to reduce ambulance ramping and improve access to timely emergency care.

“The opportunities that exist in a change like this should not be understated, especially in respect to further enhancement of clinical procedures for paramedics, and access to patient information to understand the effect of pre-hospital care on patient outcomes.”

[ENDS] 1 October 2013

Media Contact: Alexandra Foley 0419 794 294