The report highlights several critical areas, especially that prior reporting obscured differences in regional and metropolitan performance.
In correspondence to the council received in 2022, Health Minister Ryan Park claimed that average response times for category one and two emergencies in Tocumwal were in the vicinity of eight minutes.
Similar statistics have been quoted to media outlets.
Ambulance NSW has confirmed that the median time for priority one cases in Tocumwal from 2022-23 was 18.8 minutes. For a priority two cases it was 26.45 minutes.
“We knew these statistics could not be correct,” Berrigan Shire Mayor Julia Cornwell McKean said.
“Even with lights and sirens it would not be possible to get to Tocumwal in that time from the nearest ambulance station in Finley.”
“Upon further inquiry, Berrigan Shire Council established the statistics quoted were for the ABS area ‘Upper Murray’.
“According to the ABS, Upper Murray extends along the Murray River and has a population exceeding 40,000 people.
“Tocumwal is a tiny part of that region with a population of just under 3000.
“It was simply incorrect, unfair and insulting to suggest that the quoted statistics relate to ambulance response times in Tocumwal”.
An Ambulance NSW spokesperson said Tocumwal had not been identified as a priority location, relative to other areas in service planning completed by NSW Ambulance in 2023.
“More than 20 other locations throughout regional NSW have been identified with a higher priority for new services than Tocumwal, the spokesperson said.
“The Tocumwal community has a NSW Ambulance Community First Responders (CFR) unit, established in 2010 in partnership with Fire and Rescue NSW.
“NSW Ambulance provides and trains CFR units to assist with timely responses to immediately life-threatening conditions including urgent CPR and defibrillation.
“Having a CFR partner on scene provides early clinical intervention and care to patients by partners who are trained, credentialed and tasked by NSW Ambulance until an ambulance nearby can respond.”
Cr Cornwell McKean noted key findings within the report, one indicating that only one out of 15 indicators directly related to clinical service delivery in regional NSW.
“This stresses the need for a more focused approach in assessing and improving ambulance services in regional areas,” she said.
The report points out the key performance indicator used to assess ambulance response times only reflects the fastest 50 per cent of incidents.
In 2022-23, the median response time for Priority 1A incidents was similar between metropolitan and regional zones (8.27 and 8.64 minutes, respectively).
However, when considering the 85th percentile, metropolitan performance (13.58 minutes) was significantly superior to regional performance (17.88 minutes).
The Ambulance NSW spokesperson said figures for Tocumwal could be misleading when compared to other demographics as it was such a small sample size.
The challenges faced by ambulances in regional NSW, such as greater travel distances and the provision of more non-emergency patient transport services, were also highlighted.
The report emphasises that statewide performance metrics do not sufficiently reflect the performance in regional areas.
NSW Health has identified health outcomes in regional NSW as a strategic priority.
Cr Cornwell McKean said Berrigan Shire Council appreciated the detailed analysis and recommendations provided in the report.
“The establishment of an ambulance station in Tocumwal will significantly improve healthcare outcomes for our community,” she said.
“We look forward to further announcements and continued improvements in the delivery of ambulance services in regional NSW.“
