Qld: Ambulance response times above benchmark: Gov says

AAP General News (Australia)
12-31-2005
Qld: Ambulance response times above benchmark: Gov says

BRISBANE, Dec 31 AAP - Claims that ambulances are not reaching life-threatening situations
fast enough are misleading, Emergency Services Minister Pat Purcell says.

Despite almost a third of Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) callouts to code-one emergencies
failing to arrive within 10 minutes, Mr Purcell said response times in the state had consistently
improved over the past three years.

"Figures for this financial year to date show the QAS has responded to 69.49 per cent
of code-one cases in less than 10 minutes," he said.

"The QAS gets more Queenslanders to hospital faster and in a better medical condition
than ever before."

However, Liberal MP Michael Caltabiano said it was "shocking" that the remaining 30
per cent of patients waited for longer than 10 minutes.

He said the newer suburbs in the outskirts of Brisbane were worst affected.

"There has been absolutely no investment in ambulance infrastructure in the middle
and outer ring suburbs of Brisbane," he said.

"The government shouldn't be covering up these sort of response times.

"The community needs to be concerned, particularly those living in the middle and outer
suburbs of Brisbane that have bought a block of land and built a house in the last eight
years.

"If they haven't got an ambulance service in their district it's because this government
hasn't invested in ambulance services and they need to be concerned and they need to be
alarmed."

Mr Purcell said Mr Caltabiano's comments "were both misleading and irresponsible".

"If the Member for Chatsworth had bothered to look at the real and complete picture
he would have seen in our main regional towns QAS response times are well above the 68
per cent benchmark," he said.

AAP rl/jus/pb/de

KEYWORD: AMBULANCES QLD

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