The Hodgman Liberal Government is committed to improving ambulance response times across Tasmania and easing demand pressures on paramedics.

That’s why we have boosted funding for Ambulance Tasmania in the 2019-20 Budget with $20 million in new funding over four years to help meet increasing demand for health services.

As our economy continues to grow, the Budget supports and encourages growth that benefits all Tasmanians, by delivering unprecedented infrastructure spending and the State’s largest ever Budget for health.

This budget is very much about maintaining the momentum and investing for growth, and health is an important component of this.

We have already significantly increased ambulance services, but we know there is still more to do, so this year’s Budget delivers $438 million over the next four years.

That’s over $200 million more than the 2013-14 Budget – an 87 per cent increase in just five years.

This is backed up by the 2019 Productivity Commission Report on Government Services, which reported that ambulance funding in Tasmania is at record levels, and well above the national average.

In this year’s Budget, we are continuing to roll out our $125 million plan for Ambulance Tasmania, including:

• $40 million over the next four years for our lifesaving dedicated aeromedical service

• $10.2 million to implement Secondary Triage, to reduce demand on our ambulance services

• $3 million to secure additional positions within the Statewide Operations Centre

• $21 million for our new rural and regional paramedics program, which will see 42 new paramedics employed across the state.

The first 18 recruits will commence this year, and will be stationed at:

o Wynyard

o Bicheno

o St Helens

o Deloraine

o Dodges Ferry

o Regional Branch Station Officer Team Leaders

We will also start building and upgrading important new Ambulance Tasmania infrastructure, including:

• Brand new ambulance stations at Burnie, Glenorchy and Campbell Town

• Smithton ambulance training facility upgrades

• Continuation of the $15 million Rural Health Facility Infrastructure funding, which is providing resources for upgrades and refurbishments

The Hodgman Liberal Government is committed to supporting our hardworking paramedics and volunteer ambulance officers by employing more staff and building vital new infrastructure.

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