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The Australian Medical Association鈥檚 () reveals 鈥渁larming鈥� levels of ramping across Australia, with ramping in some states still double what it was five years ago 鈥� the report being the first to include five-year longitudinal comparisons across each state and territory.

鈥淓mergency departments have difficulty getting patients admitted into hospital for many reasons, including under-resourcing, and a lack of beds due to exit block,鈥� AMA President Dr Danielle McMullen said. 鈥淥ur amazing hospital and ambulance staff are doing the best they can to get people the care they need, but they desperately need more resourcing, more space, more beds and a system that works.鈥�

Exit block occurs when patients are ready to be discharged but can鈥檛 be because they have nowhere to go. It聽is a problem that McMullen said particularly affects patients waiting for aged care or disability accommodation or support. 鈥淚t means less beds for inpatient services, which results in鈥痠ncreased waiting times for ambulance services, emergency鈥痙epartment services, and essential elective surgeries,鈥� McMullen said. 鈥淥ur hospitals have been struggling since before the COVID-19 pandemic.鈥�

McMullen said additional federal funding for public hospitals was welcome but聽called聽on whoever wins government to expedite a new National Health Reform Agreement. 鈥淭he federal government鈥檚 promised investment for public hospitals through the new agreement, originally estimated at $13 billion, is little more than a nice idea if states and territories fail to reach an agreement with the federal government.鈥疉nd the reality is that the cost of healthcare has gone up and most of the new funding will be eaten up before it is able to fund extra services,鈥� McMullen said.

鈥淭he need for a new fit-for-purpose agreement has never been greater 鈥� for doctors and their patients,鈥� McMullen added, also pointing to a need for greater transparency in data, with each state and territory reporting data differently, thus making it impossible to accurately compare jurisdictions. 鈥淒espite these differences, performance has clearly fallen across the board over the past five years,鈥� McMullen said.鈥�鈥漌e are advocating for nationally consistent reporting of ambulance ramping to be included in the National Minimum Data Set that all jurisdictions must provide to the federal government.鈥�

The Ambulance Ramping Report Card 2025 is available , via the AMA website.

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