Ambulance Tasmania, formerly known as the Tasmanian Ambulance Service, provides ambulance services in the state of

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The service was established by the ''Ambulance Service Act 1982'' and operates within the

Department of Health A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their ow ...

. Ambulance Tasmania responded to 83 797 incidents in the 2017-2018 period, making approximately 230 incidents per day. 34 653 of these were classed as emergency incidents.

Staffing

The service has approximately 600 volunteer officers and 378 paid staff,. Ambulance Tasmania uses a range of registered Paramedics, Intensive Care Paramedics and Extended Care Paramedics. In addition the service utilises Doctors and nurses in some circumstances. Patient transport staff are also utilized in urban areas. Volunteers working with Ambulance Tasmania generally operate in one of two ways. Volunteer Ambulance Officers will respond on 000 calls on ambulances, either with a registered Paramedic or with another volunteer or in a response car where Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) exist. Volunteer Ambulance Officers operate from 41 of the 55 locations across the state. Ambulance Tasmania has four levels of volunteer ranging from non-clinical level 1 to level 4 where a volunteer can perform some clinical assessments and intervention alone.

Locations

Ambulance Tasmania operates from 55 locations across the state. These locations are staff with a mix of paid staff and volunteers depending on location. *14 locations are staffed only by paid Paramedics including the base at Launceston Airport with the Royal Flying Doctor Service. *20 locations are staffed by a single Paramedic who works with a volunteer. They may or may not work on call at night depending on the station. *17 locations staff ambulances with volunteers only. These stations make up approximately 5% of all calls. *4 locations are areas covered by Community Emergency Response Teams. They do no have an ambulance, rather respond in an ambulance provided car to begin treatment while an ambulance is on its way.

Funding

Ambulance Tasmania is funded through a combination of government grants/contributions, fees and subscription/other income sources. In the 2017–18 financial year the service was funded for the value of 75.8 million AUD. This is up on the previous two financial years, being 64.8 million AUD and 58.6 million AUD respectively. The service is generally provided free to Tasmanian residents. In 2018 the state government announced a $125 million AUD investment in Ambulance Tasmania over the next four years, including upgraded Helicopter Emergency Medical Service, secondary triage, replacement stations and additional staff and training facilities.

Rescue

Two

BK 117 The MBB/Kawasaki BK 117 is a twin-engined medium utility–transport helicopter. It was jointly developed and manufactured by Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) of Germany and Kawasaki of Japan. MBB was later purchased by Daimler-Benz and event ...

's operate out of Hobart airport as aeromedical helicopters which are shared with the

Tasmanian Police Tasmania Police is the primary law enforcement agency of the Australian state of Tasmania. Established in 1899, the force has more than 1,300 officers policing Tasmania's population of over half a million people. History Colonial history Prior ...

contracted from the Tasmania Air Rescue Trust. These helicopters and both night flight and winch capable. They are fitted with high intensity spotlights and infrared cameras. Ambulance Tasmania staff this helicopter with Paramedics currently as the service has traditionally operated as a rescue service. In the future the aircraft will be staffed by both a Paramedic as well as six doctors and be remodelled to focus on emergency medicine.

Fleet

Ambulance Tasmania operates a fleet of 164 vehicles. This includes a fleet of Mercedes Sprinter ambulances. Most are used for Emergency Ambulance roles with a small amount being used for patient transport. The service utilizes a number of rapid response vehicles for single responders such as CERT responders, officers or managers and specialist paramedics. To access more remote parts of the state or when in inclement weather the service has a number of Toyota Land Cruiser 4x4 ambulances across the state. Ambulance Tasmania also operates three special operations vehicles for bariatric, neonatal and scene command roles. There is one vehicle based in Hobart, Launceston and Burnie respectively.

References

External links

Official website

Volunteer Ambulance Officers Association
{{Authority control Government agencies of Tasmania Emergency services in Tasmania Ambulance services in Australia Health in Tasmania