More ambulance resources will hit Darwin roads from today as St John NT strengthens frontline emergency care capacity across the region.
The new resources include:
- Two permanent peak-period ambulances
- A second Critical Response Unit
- A dedicated Low Acuity Response Unit.
The service improvements, made possible by the $10 million support package, were informed by analysis of operational data and staff feedback, including demand patterns, ambulance availability and pressure experienced across the Darwin region.
The analysis identified where additional ambulance capacity, critical care coverage and lower-acuity response capability would be most effective.
Director Ambulance Services Samuel Kellick said the changes were designed to better match frontline resources with demand.
“These changes are about making sure the right resources are available at the right time,” Mr Kellick said.
“St John NT is putting more ambulances on the road through the busiest parts of the day, increasing critical care coverage and strengthening the way we respond to lower-acuity patients.
“For our crews, it means better support on the road. For patients, it means a better chance of getting the right care, sooner.”
The two new peak-period ambulances will provide overlapping coverage from late morning into the evening.
The second Critical Response Unit will increase Intensive Care Paramedic (ICP) coverage and provide further opportunities for ICP training and development.
The Low Acuity Response Unit will provide a dedicated response for suitable lower-acuity patients.
The changes provide an immediate increase in frontline capacity and form part of broader work to strengthen ambulance coverage as demand continues to grow across the Northern Territory.
St John NT CEO Abigail Trewin AM said the new resources would provide important frontline relief, but would not on their own resolve the broader demand and resourcing pressures facing the service.
“The $10 million support package has provided a needed and welcome boost to frontline capacity, and we have been very deliberate in directing that funding where it can provide the greatest operational benefit,” Ms Trewin said.
“These additional resources will give crews some much-needed relief through the busiest parts of the day and strengthen critical care coverage, but they will not materially change response times or resolve the broader demand pressures on their own.
“They are an important step forward, but long-term funding discussions must continue to progress so we can build the ambulance service the Territory needs.”
