3.2 Waiting for the ambulance Time taken for ambulance to arrive Table 7. Time taken for ambulance to arrive (Q4) – All Services 2021
Victoria New South Wales Queensland Western Australia Tasmania Northern Territory Australian Capital Territory South Australia Australia Overall St John Wellington New Zealand Overall Papua New Guinea
Much quicker than I thought it would be
A little quicker than I thought it would be
About what I thought it would be
A little slower than I thought it would be
Much slower than I thought it would be
NET Quicker
NET slower
33.9% 32.55% 33.4% 42.8% 37.5% 47.6% 39.7% 37.3% 34.8% 40.75% 27.0% 39.2% 55.9%
21.8% 22.9% 20.4% 25.3% 21.7% 17.1% 21.1% 21.8% 21.9% 13.73% 16.8% 14.1% 35.4%
30.5% 31.0% 31.9% 22.4% 25.5% 23.8% 30.3% 28.7% 30.0% 27.0% 31.5% 27.5% 7.0%
7.9% 8.9% 7.2% 6.7% 7.3% 4.9% 6.3% 7.2% 7.6% 10.14% 8.8% 10.0% 1.1%
5.9% 4.7% 7.0% 2.9% 8.0% 6.7% 2.6% 5.0% 5.6% 8.35% 15.9% 9.2% 0.6%
56% 55% 54% 68% 59% 65% 61% 59% 57% 54% 44% 53% 91%
14% 14% 14% 10% 15% 12% 9% 12% 13% 18% 25% 19% 2%
4.Which of the following would best describe how you felt about the length of time you waited for the ambulance to arrive? (Base Australia n=4,837; New Zealand n=1,696; Papua New Guinea n=1,092; excludes ‘missing’, ‘don’t know/can’t say’)
In Australia, over half of respondents (57%) said that the ambulance arrived ‘much’ or ‘a little’ quicker than expected, with 35% of respondents reporting that it arrived ‘much’ quicker. The Northern Territory and Western Australia recorded the most positive experiences when it came to ambulance wait times, just under half (48%) of respondents from the Northern Territory and 43% from Western Australia reported that the ambulance arrived ‘much quicker’ than they thought it would. In New Zealand, over half of the participants (53%) indicated the ambulance arrived either ‘much’ or ‘a little’ quicker than expected. An overwhelming 91% of Papua New Guinea respondents reported they felt the ambulance either arrived ‘much’ or ‘a little’ quicker than expected. Figure 5. Time taken for ambulance to arrive – All Services (Q4) – 2020 vs 2021
4. Which of the following would best describe how you felt about the length of time you waited for the ambulance to arrive? (Base Australia 2021 n=2,561, 2020 n=4,837; New Zealand 2021 n=1,696, 2020 n=1,588; Papua New Guinea 2021 n=1,092, 2020 n=65; excludes ‘missing’, ‘don’t know/can’t say’)
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The Council of Ambulance Authorities | 2021 Patient Experience Survey Report
