A resident of Brooks Reach claims an outdated navigation system delayed an ambulance call-out to his home this week.
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The homeowner, who has lived at the Horsley estate for more than two years, said paramedics told him the address was not on their vehicle’s GPS.
‘’We were unfortunate enough to have to call an ambulance to our house on Monday night,’’ he wrote to an Illawarra MP.
‘’It took the ambos a while to get here, when they got here they apologised, their GPS system supplied by the NSW Ambulance Service doesn’t have Brooks Reach in it yet, even though most of us have lived here for more than two years.’’
The resident said the paramedics eventually located his home using Google Maps on their mobile phone.
‘’Does someone need to die before something is done about the poor resources our emergency staff have to deal with,’’ he said.
In the wake of the incident, Shellharbour MP Anna Watson has called on Health Minister Jillian Skinner to urgently upgrade the GPS in emergency vehicles to include the location of new estates.
‘’Paramedics are first responders to potentially life-threatening call-outs and do their very best to get to locations as quickly as possible,’’ Ms Watson said.
‘’Paramedics and those involved in medical emergencies should not be let down by equipment, which is run-down or outdated.’’
However a NSW Ambulance spokesman said the organisation had a ‘’sophisticated and robust GIS mapping system’’ within each of the state’s Triple Zero control centres that managed the dispatch of emergency ambulances. These were updated several times a year.
‘’In addition every emergency ambulance within the NSW Ambulance fleet has either integrated GPS or has a stand-alone GPS service,’’ the spokesman said.
‘’From time to time, paramedics may consult other documentation to locate an address and every assistance is provided by the control centre to responding paramedics in locating an address, if required.’’
Health Services Union Illawarra vice-president Anton Jamsek said it was not a lack of technology, but resources delaying response times.
‘’While we are always keen to have the latest technology, and updates, the thing that really slows us down is lack of cars and paramedics.’’