EDITORIAL: We should not ignore serious warning signs when it comes to our health — or our health system

It is no secret that ambulance “ramping” has soared over the past year at Perth’s clogged public hospitals. The State Government came under fire about record-high metropolitan ramping figures before and after the March election. But apart from a few monthly jumps, it seemed we were mostly insulated from the ramping crisis in the Great Southern. Not any more. In March, ambulances spent nine hours ramping at Albany Health Campus — the highest figure in six years of records. Our monthly total for May was 19 hours. Ramping refers to any time in excess of half an hour that a patient spends waiting for admission outside an emergency department in an ambulance. Last week, we plastered the word “emergency” across our front page, reporting that Albany’s ramping total this financial year was higher than the previous five years combined. We have since been contacted by local medical professionals who have shared their concerns about a system being pushed to its limits. These people want to remain anonymous, and we respect their wishes. But their insights have been worrying. They paint a picture of a growing city with a hospital that isn’t growing with it. In a region where ambulances are scarce and some manned by volunteers, they say ramping can have disastrous outcomes. We’re told nurses and doctors are doing their best, but there aren’t enough people or resources to go around. Most of all, they want us to keep asking questions. For the effort they are putting in for our community, that’s the least we can do.