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Newcastle Herald
Newcastle Herald
National

New ambulance station for Hunter as demand soars

EDGEWORTH will be home to a new ambulance station as part of what the state government has previously announced as a record $1.76 billion spend to boost frontline emergency care.

It comes amid "five weeks of fury" by Health Services Union members, including work bans and highly visible civil disobedience, after it was revealed the number of ambulance call-outs in NSW had reached at least a decade high in the final quarter of last year.

Between October and December 2022, there were 346,748 ambulance responses, more than in any quarter since the NSW Bureau of Health Information began keeping records in 2010.

"Ambulance services are experiencing sustained high demand and this new station at Edgeworth will provide our hardworking paramedics with first-class facilities as they assist people in their time of need," Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter Taylor Martin said on Thursday.

"The new station will feature internal parking for emergency ambulance vehicles, vehicle wash facilities, multipurpose spaces to support staff education, logistics and storage spaces, an office area for administration as well as staff amenities."

Minister for Regional Health Bronnie Taylor said the government was investing in ambulance stations to ensure communities received emergency care when they needed, it regardless of where they lived.

"The new Edgeworth ambulance station, along with new stations earmarked for Gateshead, Swansea and Branxton, is yet another way we are meeting the growing emergency care needs of NSW now and into the future," Mrs Taylor said.

Mr Martin said the site for the station at Edgeworth would be determined once further planning was completed. "We will shortly commence a process to identify potential sites for the new ambulance station," he said.

To see more stories and read today's paper download the Newcastle Herald news app here.

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