The status means the ambulance service’s “operational capacity, capability and/or resources are insufficient to maintain effective service delivery for high acuity cases”.
“Significant ramping and ED overcrowding tonight with all adult EDs over capacity,” the union tweeted on Thursday.
“Multiple patients ramped for over four hours at [Flinders Medical Centre] with minimal bed capacity available. Our healthcare workers are working under immense pressure.”
AEA general secretary Leah Watkins said the union had a briefing with the SA Ambulance Service on Thursday morning and was told the pressure on the agency was higher than during the last wave of the virus.
“The workload for the ambulance service and the number of staff furloughed due to COVID or being close contacts is at a worse state now than it was in January at the peak of the Omicron outbreak,” she told .
xjmtzyw“So it’s incredibly concerning.”
Premier Peter Malinauskas on Thursday announced the State Government would be standing up 100 extra “contingency” beds – including 24 intensive care beds at the Royal Adelaide Hospital – to prepare for this month’s surge in COVID-19 cases.
South Australia recorded 5061 cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, with virus hospitalisations dropping slightly from 180 to 175 people.
There are currently more than 32,000 active cases across the state, with State Government commissioned modelling predicting daily infections will reach a peak of around 8000-a day within the first two weeks of April.
It comes as figures reported to the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee noted the number of daily COVID-19 cases across Australia increased by more than 76 per cent between March 11 and March 23, while hospitalisations from the virus rose by almost 25 per cent in the same time period.
However, in the two-week period, deaths were down by seven per cent, and the number of patients in ICU had decreased by five per cent nationally.
In a statement, the committee said the increase was driven by the more transmissible BA.2 subvariant of Omicron.
“These trends are aligned with the experience reported internationally,” the statement said.
“We also note forecasting which suggests this current wave will peak around mid-April in many jurisdictions.”
Labor highlights aged care pledges in budget reply
Federal Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese acknowledges the public galleries after delivering his budget reply speech in the House of Representatives last night. Photo: Lukas Coch/AAP
Anthony Albanese has pledged $2.5 billion to help the country’s aged care sector, as the Labor leader made the case in his budget reply speech to become the nation’s next prime minister.
With the federal election campaign just weeks away, Albanese laid out a five-point plan on Thursday night to overhaul aged care, including requirements for every aged care facility to have a registered nurse on site 24 hours a day, and new minimum care mandates.
“Our older Australians aren’t just a number, they aren’t a burden, they are people who deserve respect, courtesy and the best possible attention,” he told parliament on Thursday night.
“We will bring the principle of universal, affordable and quality service … to aged care.”
Albanese said he was prepared to be judged as prime minister on whether aged care and other vulnerable workers receive a new pay rise.
As part of the aged care announcement, Labor would also support a wage rise for aged care workers, as well as work with the sector to institute new mandatory food standards in residential facilities.
Albanese pledged to work with multicultural communities to support culturally appropriate care, and give the aged care safety commissioner new powers.
“We will make residential care providers report, in public and in detail, what they are spending money on,” he said.
“The days of residents going without decent food and clean clothes will come to an end.”
While Albanese said the measures were fully costed, Finance Minister Simon Birmingham said the proposal was a sweeping promise with no mention of how it would be funded.
“It is a hollow promise with absolutely no detail attached to it,” he told reporters in Canberra on Thursday.
“This is part of the false promise that Anthony Albanese is offering, pretending none of this costs anything and pretending that it’s all just easily done.”
VIDEO: Police seize 400kg of cocaine in record SA drug bust
Four men are due to face court today after state and federal authorities seized an estimated $250 million worth of cocaine from a shipment off the coast of Yorke Peninsula in a record drug bust for South Australia.
| Record SA drug bust 10 News First Adelaide – Disclaimer |  |
Australia provides more military support for Ukraine after Zelenskyy address
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy receives a standing ovation after addressing the House of Representatives via a video link last night. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen/AAP pool
Ukraine’s president has warned parliament that Russian aggression poses a real threat to countries like Australia, as the federal government pledged a further $25 million in military assistance for the besieged nation.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy told a joint sitting of Australian parliament on Thursday that Russia needed to pay the “highest price” for its invasion of Ukraine.
“That is the nature of evil – it can instantly cross any distance, any barriers, destroy lives,” he said via video call.
“Unpunished evil comes back with inspiration and a feeling of almightiness.”
President Zelenskyy called for further access to Australian military vehicles, such as the Bushmaster, to help Ukraine defend territory against Russian forces.
“That could help Ukraine significantly – we would be very grateful if you could share those with us,” he said.
“The geographical distance between us is huge, but what does this distance mean for those who have a common understanding?
“Geography doesn’t matter.”
Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a further $25 million of defensive military equipment would be provided to Ukraine, at the request of President Zelenskyy.
The pledge would see Australia’s total military assistance to Ukraine reach $116 million.
The federal government has already provided $65 million of humanitarian assistance and 70,000 tonnes of thermal coal for Ukraine’s energy needs.
Morrison used his opening remarks to President Zelenskyy’s address to brand Russian President Vladimir Putin as a war criminal.
“Ukraine and Australia are separated by half the earth. Our languages, accents, histories and cultures are different but we share an affinity for democracy or freedom,” Morrison told the president and the parliament.
“Mr President, you have our praise. But you also have our weapons, our humanitarian aid, our sanctions against those who seek to deny your freedom.”
Investigation launched after five killed in Victorian helicopter crash
Aviation safety experts are expected to begin combing through the wreckage of a helicopter that crashed in mountainous Victorian terrain, killing five people.
Four passengers and a pilot died at the scene after the aircraft crashed at Mt Disappointment, north of Melbourne, on Thursday morning.
The five people on board included four men and one woman aged from 32 to 73. Three were from Victoria and two from NSW.
Their remains were found after ground crews battled steep terrain and dense forest to reach the wreckage near Blair’s Hut about 3.45pm, after it was earlier spotted by the police air wing.
“The helicopter’s been destroyed and unfortunately there were no survivors,” acting inspector Josh Langelaan told reporters on Thursday night.
It is believed to be Victoria’s deadliest aviation disaster since February 2017, when five people were killed after a charter plane crashed into Melbourne’s Essendon DFO shopping centre.
At the time, Premier Daniel Andrews said it was the state’s worst civil aviation accident for 30 years.
The helicopter was one of two that departed Batman Park in central Melbourne on Thursday morning, flying in convoy over Mt Disappointment on their way to Ulupna near the Victorian/NSW border.
The passengers were travelling as part of a business trip, police said.
Langelaan said there was low cloud over Mt Disappointment when one of the helicopters went missing and the other raised the alarm, before landing safely at Moorabbin.
The cause of the crash remains unknown, with the Australian Transport Safety Bureau to take over the investigation on Friday.
Stars to miss Showdown battle of the winless
Rory Sloane and Robbie Gray at a 2017 photoshoot ahead of the International Rules series against Ireland. The duo will miss tonight’s AFL Showdown at Adelaide Oval. Photo David Mariuz/AAP
Adelaide captain Rory Sloane and Port Adelaide’s five-time Showdown medallist Robbie Gray will both miss tonight’s critical clash between the two winless AFL clubs, as Crows coach Matthew Nicks says he’s unfazed by a spray from a club legend.
Sloane has been ruled out by a groin injury while Gray is sidelined by COVID protocols.
The big blows for both teams come as Port reveal spearhead Charlie Dixon will miss at least another month of the season.
Dixon has suffered a setback in his recovery from pre-season ankle surgery and is yet to play this year.
“It’s a big concern,’ Port coach Ken Hinkley told reporters on Thursday.
“Charlie … hasn’t missed a game in two years (prior), he’s a critical piece of our team as is Aliir (Aliir) down the other end.
“But we need to step up. We need to fill the boots of someone who is not there.”
All Australian defender Aliir is not expected to return from an ankle operation for four to five weeks and goalsneak Orazio Fantasia is up to eight weeks from making a comeback from pre-season knee surgery.
Hinkley has dumped GWS recruit Jeremy Finlayson for the Adelaide Oval fixture, summoning Jed McEntee for his second AFL game.
The Crows have recalled dual club champion Rory Laird for his first game this year after suffering a broken hand.
Nicks described his players as “hungry” to atone after consecutive losses for his rebuilding team, the youngest side in the AFL.
But the Crows coach, now entering his third season with the club, said he was unfazed by a public spray of his players delivered by board director and club legend Mark Ricciuto on Wednesday.
