New statistics on ambulance response times across NSW are showing some mixed results for the Hunter.
While ambulances are responding to emergency cases within 30 minutes 96 percent of the time in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, response times are only at 92 percent for other areas in the region.
However, NSW Secretary of the Health Services Union, Gerard Hayes says these statistics aren't a fair representation of what's actually going on.
"There's only certain areas that are being measured. I think that what is really here is the fact that the state is under-resourced and paramedics and response times will continue to live at the level of the second worst in the country," he said.
"The service does the best it can with what it has and what it has is not enough. We've got to get real in this and make sure we can save lives by putting the right amount of professionals in place to be able to service the community."
Figures also show one in four critically ill or injured patients are waiting more than 10 minutes for an ambulance to arrive.
Gerard Hayes says the implications for those who have to wait longer than this, can be catastrophic.
"That ten minutes can mean whether [people] will survive or not. If you have chest pains or anything along those lines, you should be contacting the ambulance as soon as possible and the ambulance should be attending as soon as possible, not waiting," he said.
"Every second counts."
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| NSW Secretary of HSU, Gerard Hayes [Image: ABC] |
