The cost of an ambulance ride may be deterring people from making 000 emergency calls even when experiencing severe chest pains, new Heart Foundation research has revealed.
National policy officer Christopher Poulter has revealed the results of a new and as yet unreleased study by the Heart Foundation that appear to show cost is a deterrent to call the emergency number.
“There seems to be a good association between coverage status and people’s intention to call 000,” Poulter told the Heart Foundation Conference at the convention centre last week.
“It raises questions for further research – is cost an independent factor to call 000?”
The unreleased research presented at the conference showed people with ambulance cover were more likely to call 000 if experiencing mild symptoms such as feeling dizzy or discomfort in the chest, but even people suffering severe chest pain were less likely to call if they were not covered.
The Heart Foundation would not release the detailed data to Indaily before its national release later this year.
The Heart Foundation’s policy is for universal ambulance cover nationally.
In South Australia, for people without ambulance cover it can cost up to $847 for a call out, as well as a $4.90 per kilometre charge. In Queensland and Tasmania, ambulance costs are fully covered by the state governments.
“From a policy perspective it is about removing those system barriers to reduce delay and improve equity of access to ambulance care,” Poulter said.
Flinders University professor of paramedics Hugh Grantham said the missing link in ambulance cover was a “blip” in Australia’s health system.
“We go to our GP and claim on Medicare, we are surrounded by policemen, fire (fighters), all our services, our rubbish collection, all come out of our taxes,” Grantham said.
“We can go to a public hospital and we’ll be treated in a public system and yet we have this blip in the middle, but it’s so inconsistent. In two states [the blip] doesn’t happen.”
Grantham said he hoped the study would encourage a push for change.
“I’ve lived with this for ages and it’s a historical twist to how it was originally funded through volunteer agencies and it has been too hard to change.
“I’m hoping this will produce a wealth of evidence that will push the change [to universal ambulance cover].”
South Australian Council of Social Services executive director Ross Womersley said ambulance services should be covered.
“I think ambulance services are essential services and are in the basket of thing that having access to would be one of the priorities, so yes it should be a taxpayer funded service,” he said.
“However, it is an expensive service and I can imagine the state at this point would be quite reluctant to take on responsibility of payment for the service.”
Womersley said there was “no doubt” that for some people anxiety about the cost of an ambulance would lead them to second guess whether or not to call.
“There is no doubt it does cost a lot and certainly in some instances that would det er people from calling but you would hope that in all emergency, all serious emergencies, that people would call.”
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