Callers told no ambulances available almost 17,000 times in Tasmania in 2025-26 - ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Tasmanians who had rung Triple Zero were told there were no available ambulances on average 46 times per day last year. (ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke)

Tasmanians who had rung Triple Zero were told there were no available ambulances nearly 17,000 times in 2025-26, new figures have revealed — around 46 times per day.

Health Minister Bridget Archer says all Triple Zero calls are triaged according to clinical need, and that the increase was due to high demand.

When Rosie Maddock fell over in the bathroom while at a pathology appointment, the 75-year-old did not expect to be waiting too long for medical help.

Mrs Maddock said the wait for an ambulance ended up being three hours long.

WARNING: This story contains an image of an injury some may find distressing.

"So I just lay there on the cold floor, cement floor, waiting for the ambulance to come," she told the ABC, calling it "quite painful".

Rosie Maddock's injury was serious enough that she stayed in hospital for three weeks. (ABC News: Jake Grant)

The early May incident occurred in Glenorchy, 15 minutes from the Royal Hobart Hospital.

It was serious enough that Mrs Maddock ended up staying in hospital for three weeks, dealing with blood clots and bruising in her leg.

"My life wasn't in danger, but I don't think it helped my situation at all," she said.

Rosie Maddock suffered bruising and blood clots. (Supplied: Rosie Maddock)

Calling Triple Zero to find out there is no ambulance immediately available is becoming more and more common.

In fact, it happened nearly 17,000 times in 2025-26, or around 46 times per day.

Health department figures obtained by the Labor state opposition show the number of delayed activations (counted as taking three minutes or longer for a vehicle to be dispatched), rose 30 per cent compared to the year before.

It coincides with a 6 per cent increase in the total number of Triple Zero calls — reaching 115,735 in 2025-26.

Labor's Health spokesperson Sarah Lovell called the figures "deeply concerning".

Ramping happens when a hospital is unable to admit a patient, so that person must remain in the care of ambulance paramedics, effectively rendering the ambulance unavailable for other jobs.  (ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke)

Health and Community Services Union state secretary Robbie Moore said the situation was "simply unacceptable".

"It's exactly what paramedic comms staff who answer the Triple Zero calls are telling us — they're saying they're unable to dispatch ambulances to people that need them," he said.

"We see ambulances unavailable for people in a life-or-death situation — that happens regularly."

He said the unavailability of ambulances was due to bed block in hospitals.

"The solutions are there — we can invest in our allied health professionals who avoid people coming to hospital and get you out of hospital sooner, we invest in more paramedics and better ambulance services," Mr Moore said.

Bridget Archer says delays may be caused by an ambulance "attending to somebody who is having a medical episode of a higher acuity". (ABC News: Jonny McNee)

Health Minister Bridget Archer pointed to the increased demand when asked about the increase in delayed dispatches.

"I want to be really clear with Tasmanians — if you call an ambulance and you need an ambulance, you will get an ambulance," she said.

She also reiterated that all Triple Zero calls were triaged according to clinical need.

In the 2024 state election campaign, the Liberals promised to "ban ambulance ramping" by instituting a protocol where patients were transferred from ambulances to the emergency department within a set time.

This was initially set at 60 minutes, to be lowered over time.

Ms Lovell said the figures were proof that the "ramping ban" had not worked.

The figures obtained by Labor also showed no significant improvement in the median ambulance response time in any region over the last two years.

Mr Moore said the government had "effectively withdrawn" from it, because it had been unable to implement the next stage of the protocol where there would be a 45-minute limit.

Ms Archer said the government was still committed to the policy.

The "ramping ban" has faced opposition from the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Foundation, which has taken the state government to the Tasmanian Industrial Commission to block its implementation.