St John Ambulance WA chief executive Michelle Fyfe has resigned after unprecedented pressure on the state's ambulance service in recent months.
Her decision to step down comes after record ambulance ramping and a surge in COVID-19 cases contributed to delays amid extremely high demand, with at least two deaths linked to issues with the service in less than a month.
Ms Fyfe was due to finish her contract in October, but will now step down on July 12.
In a statement, St John Ambulance WA chair Shayne Leslie said the board and Ms Fyfe had discussed the best way forward for the organisation.
"Ms Fyfe was due to finish her contract in October this year but has opted to step aside earlier to allow new leadership to bring fresh energy and solutions for the next phase of St John's critical service to the WA community."
St John needs 'new energy' to move forward, Fyfe says
Ms Fyfe said in a statement her four years in the role had been fulfilling but taxing.
"It's been an honour to lead St John WA and I am proud of what we achieved during a period of unprecedented challenge," she said.
"However, the organisation needs new energy to take it forward."
Ms Fyfe held the position throughout the pandemic, while the service operated within a health system that had come under immense strain, prompting the not-for-profit to send out alerts warning people of delays.
The state government had become frustrated with St John for not activating critical worker protocols to overcome staff shortages due to COVID-19, resulting in emergency services personnel being deployed by the state government as ambulance drivers.
Last month, a parliamentary inquiry recommended the ambulance service should return to the government fold if St John was unable to improve its performance in five years.
St John Ambulance WA said its chief operating officer, Antony Smithson, will take on the role of chief executive temporarily until a permanent replacement is found.
Last month, Georgina Wild died of a heart attack after waiting more than two hours for an ambulance, despite her call being flagged as a priority 1, meaning an ambulance should arrive within 15 minutes.
On April 19, Geraldton woman Joan Hope died while waiting more than half an hour for an ambulance, despite living 4 kilometres from Geraldton Regional Hospital in Wonthella — the same suburb as the ambulance service's Geraldton base.
Last month, Western Australia recorded its fifth-worst month on record for ambulance ramping.
Figures for May, published by St John Ambulance WA, showed paramedics spent a total of 5,252 hours ramped outside hospitals.
