’There’s no one left to send’

FRUSTRATED AMBO’S SOCIAL MEDIA RANT

TASMANIA’S health service crisis has been exposed in a Hobart paramedic’s desperate plea on Facebook.

Mattie Pickering took to social media about 10pm on Thursday, seemingly frustrated during a shift at the Royal Hobart Hospital and said there were “no ambulances available in southern Tasmania”.

“The Glenorchy crew is in Campania, Bridgewater is in Sorell. Huonville is going job to job in the city while nine patients sit on the ambulance ramp at the Royal Hobart Hospital,” Mr Pickering said.

“A crew at a job calls for backup, but there isn’t any. They get a fire truck instead.”

A Tasmanian Fire Service spokeswoman confirmed a TFS crew assisted ambulance Tasmania at an incident Thursday night with lifting a patient. The post soon went viral with more than 2000 shares, more than 2000 likes and more than 400 comments by noon yesterday.

In his post, Mr Pickering went on to say a call then went out to all ambulance vehicles to attend an “emergency case” in Howrah, but there was no response available.

“Someone is having a medical emergency and there is no one left to send,” he said.

“We will do our best, we will somehow get someone to them eventually. Hopefully by then it isn’t too late.”

The claims come as the Government and paramedics are involved in a standoff over a 2 per cent pay offer, with recent industrial action including a decision to work to rule, claim all allowances, take their breaks and refuse to accept rostered overtime.

Lack of ambulances wasn’t the only issue Mr Pickering detailed.

“On top of that, the dispatch system and vehicle navigation have failed again and we are using personal mobiles to receive jobs and a map book to find your address,” Mr Pickering’s post continued.

A health department spokesman blamed a Telstra issue for causing problems with government phones.

“We know that increasing demand is placing our services under pressure at the moment, and this is why we have added 70 FTE paramedics since coming to Government, including the first new ambulance crews in the South for many years,” Health Minister Michael Ferguson said.

“The Telstra issue was far from ideal and I thank our paramedics and staff for their professional response, as well as for the important work they are doing to care for Tasmanians in the face of increasing demand.”