WA Labor has presided over the worst September of ramping since records began according to data from St John WA and cited by Steve Martin, Acting WA Liberal Leader.

According to data from St John Ambulance, WA recorded 5,985.8 hours of ramping across the healthcare system in September 2024 – the equivalent almost 250 days. The second worst September was 5,894 hours, also on Amber-Jade Sanderson’s watch.

“Ambulance ramping is completely out of control under WA Labor,” Mr Martin said.

“The State Government’s budget has never been healthier, but our healthcare system has never been sicker.

“We have lived through the biggest boom in WA’s history, it shouldn’t feel like our healthcare system is held together with sticky tape.

“Every hour an ambulance sits on a ramp is an hour the patient inside is not receiving hospital care and an hour the ambulance can’t help other patients.

Mr Martin said Roger Cook was the architect of Labor’s health policies which laid the groundwork for the current health crisis,

“Roger Cook has been in the health portfolio and then Premier almost continuously since 2008 – this is a crisis entirely of his making.

“Roger Cook and his Health Minister are totally out of their depth, leaving WA’s health system in crisis.”

Despite Labor’s claim ambulance ramping is trending down, it has trended up throughout 2024, and is worse than at any point since 2023.

“Roger Cook said 1,000 hours of ramping was a crisis, but WA has now lived through more than 50 months in a row with more than 1,000 hours of ramping.

“Roger Cook and his Minister are not up to the job of running WA’s health system.

“WA is living in an era of out-of-control ramping, exhausted and overworked healthcare professionals, unprecedented elective surgery and specialist waitlists, and unacceptable patient deaths, because of this Labor Government’s inaction.

“Roger Cook says he is proud of his record in health but after overseeing crisis after crisis in health, there is nothing to be proud of.”