Ambulance ramping has reached some of its worst levels in recent years, with the Australian Medical Association warning that growing delays are placing patients at risk and adding pressure to already stretched emergency departments.
New figures released in the AMA’s latest Ambulance Ramping Report Card show more than 2.4 million Australians arrived at emergency departments by ambulance during 2024-25, the highest number recorded to date.
The report points to rising demand for ambulance services, longer handover delays outside hospitals and ongoing challenges in emergency care, despite a slight improvement in some performance measures over the past year.
AMA President Dr Danielle McMullen said ambulance ramping had become a persistent problem across the country rather than a temporary pressure on the health system.
“Ambulance ramping is a daily reality and a symptom of the logjam in our public hospitals that is putting patients, paramedics and clinicians in harm’s way,” she said.
Dr McMullen said reports of patients dying while waiting for an ambulance or while remaining ramped outside hospitals highlighted the seriousness of the issue.
She argued that years of underinvestment and increasing demand had left public hospitals struggling to cope, despite the efforts of frontline healthcare workers.
The report found ambulance callouts reached record levels during 2024-25, with more than half of those cases resulting in a hospital presentation. As emergency departments face growing patient numbers, ambulances are spending longer waiting to transfer patients into hospital care, reducing their availability to respond to new emergencies.
Healthcare organisations and clinicians have long argued that ambulance ramping is closely linked to broader hospital capacity issues, including shortages of available beds and difficulties moving patients through the system efficiently.
Dr McMullen said the pressures were also taking a toll on doctors, nurses and paramedics, who are increasingly working in crowded environments while managing heavy workloads.
“Treating patients in corridors, managing prolonged handovers, and juggling unsafe workloads undermines clinical decision-making and places doctors in morally distressing situations,” she said.
She warned that ongoing workplace pressures were contributing to fatigue, burnout and declining morale among healthcare staff, with some experienced clinicians choosing to leave emergency medicine and the public health system.
Governments across Australia have introduced a range of measures in recent years aimed at reducing emergency department waiting times and increasing hospital capacity. However, health groups continue to argue that demand is growing faster than available resources.
The AMA is calling for further investment in hospital capacity, workforce recruitment and retention, and measures to improve patient flow through hospitals. It says reducing access block and freeing up hospital beds will be critical to easing ambulance ramping and improving emergency care.
Dr McMullen said Australians should be able to rely on timely emergency treatment when they need it.
“Governments must act now to reduce ramping, free up beds, and restore timely, high-quality care across the country,” she said.
The findings are likely to add to ongoing debate about healthcare funding and hospital performance, as governments face mounting pressure to address emergency department congestion and ambulance delays.
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