00:00Ramping occurs when ambulances are unable to offload patients at emergency departments
00:07because there's no capacity.
00:10Data shows average turnaround times, the time from when an ambulance arrives at a hospital
00:15until they can respond to the next case, has increased by 77% at Royal Darwin Hospital
00:21over the past 11 years, going from 26 minutes in 2014 to 46 minutes this year.
00:29This is the longest individual transfer, taking three and a half hours.
00:34It is a big problem.
00:35It is a big problem, particularly for that patient and those families.
00:39We, that's not the ideal place to provide care.
00:42Looking at territory hospitals as a whole, the average turnaround time has increased
00:46by 50%, from 24 minutes in 2014 to 36 minutes in 2024.
00:53It's leaving paramedics unable to get back on the road within their 30-minute turnaround
00:58target.
00:59There are a number of times where nearly all of the ambulance crews in Darwin are held
01:04at the hospital there, unable to offload their patients, and therefore that leads to extended
01:09response times.
01:11Ramping is just one of many issues facing Royal Darwin Hospital and others around the
01:16NT.
01:17The Chief Minister calling for more Commonwealth funding.
01:21We don't get the full funding that we should be getting for our hospitals in the Northern
01:24Territory.
01:25Now, ramping isn't a problem unique to the Territory, but it highlights a need for urgent
01:30changes to the NT health system.
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