Ambo chaos claims mount

AMBULANCE services in the North were thrown into chaos on Wednesday night, Labor says.

An ambulance from Deloraine was dispatched to Latrobe while a George Town ambulance was sent to Perth, the state Opposition said.

Opposition Leader Rebecca White said local communities were left vulnerable when their local ambulance was ramped at the hospital or sent to jobs out of area.

“People’s lives are being put at risk by a Government that just does not care about regional communities,’’ she said.

“Paramedics just want to be able to do their jobs and help their local communities but instead are under enormous pressure and stress and Will Hodgman is about to cut more funding from their budget.”

Labor said the Premier was failing paramedics by refusing to fix what they described as a Tasmanian ambulance crisis.

Health Minister Sarah Courtney responded by saying the Government had recruited 42 new paramedics to be stationed in rural and in regional areas.

“Yet this has not stopped Rebecca White and Labor from claiming there are not enough paramedics in our regions when it suits them,’’ she said.

“Labor cannot have it both ways — either you support the recruitment of more paramedics in our regions or you don’t.” Ms Courtney said the Government was delivering on a $125 million regional ambulance plan.

“It’s time for Rebecca White and Labor to get behind Ambulance Tasmania and support the fantastic work of our paramedics instead of using them as props for political stunts,’’ she said.

Sarah Courtney