New data reveals an increase in ramping outside Adelaide's northern suburbs hospitals has contributed to an overall rise in figures across the metropolitan area.
The number of hours lost in the transfer of care — the time it takes to get a patient from an ambulance into an emergency department — nearly doubled at the Lyell McEwin Hospital over the past six months and rose by 39 per cent at Modbury Hospital.
Health Minister Chris Picton said a lot of attention was being focused on northern Adelaide.
"Unfortunately, the ongoing building works for the new ED [at Lyell McEwin] have temporarily split it in two and made the issues more difficult," he said.
"But, with the growing population in the north, there's no question we need more beds and more staff there and we are delivering that."
He said plans for 48 extra beds at the major northern suburbs hospital received planning approval last week, with the local health network committing to hiring more emergency department doctors and nurses.
"Right across the system we will continue to invest the resources necessary to help address these access block issues," he said.
"[We are] working with our clinicians to make sure that ambulances can be cleared and patients don't face safety concerns waiting in the community calling triple-0."
Opposition health spokeswoman Ashton Hurn said Labor "continues to scramble for excuses as to why they're presiding over the worst ramping results in the state's history".
A little more than 200 hours were lost to ramping at the Lyell McEwin in October 2021.
Last month, that figure hit 622 hours, which was well down on a high of 714 hours in August.
At Modbury Hospital, 139 hours were lost in October 2021, compared with 208 hours this year.
The highest number of hours lost to ramping at one site in the 12 months to October 2022 came at Flinders Medical Centre in May, with 1,410 hours lost over 31 days.
That equates to an average of 45-and-a-half hours each day that month.
Ramping across metropolitan hospitals peaked at 3,855 hours lost in June but has remained near record levels in the months since, despite some improvements and Labor's promise at the state election to "fix the ramping crisis".
Flinders cancels elective surgeries, converts storage areas to beds
On Tuesday, it was revealed that eight areas formerly used for storage or treatment had been converted to inpatient bed spaces at Flinders Medical Centre in a bid to ease pressure on its emergency department.
Southern Adelaide Local Health Network (SALHN) chief executive Kerrie Freeman said the hospital needed to consolidate and use every available space to treat incoming patients.
"I don't call them unconventional spaces. They're just beds," Dr Freeman said.
"We would not put people into a space that was not safe or staffed, under any circumstances."
Flinders has also cancelled almost two dozen elective surgeries this week to boost capacity amid growing numbers of furloughed staff and COVID-19 cases.
SALHN has 67 staff furloughed due to COVID, and 43 COVID-positive patients currently admitted.
Of the 22 elective surgery postponements, all but one were classed as non-urgent categories 2 or 3.
In a statement, SALHN said elective surgeries were currently limited to urgent category 1 and 2 cases, and apologised for the delays and the "disruptive" impact on patients.
"We are constantly reviewing our surgery lists to prioritise clinically urgent cases and to ensure we give patients as much notice as possible if their surgery is postponed," SALHN said.
