![A file picture of an Illawarra paramedic. File picture A file picture of an Illawarra paramedic. File picture](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/HcD9H4nNcktxiWcmkEEpQD/f174149f-eea9-43e3-a2d0-5a1ed71d455a.jpg/r0_120_6000_4000_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
As hospitals struggle with a record influx of patients amid the peak winter illness season, Illawarra paramedics say local ambulance stations are not being kept fully staffed.
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The ambulance division of the Health Service Union says Illawarra stations have been reported as being understaffed 38 times in the past four week.
Union delegate Tess Oxley said this meant there were paramedics being sent around the region - or even to Sydney - to cover areas with a lack of staff,
"We've been given a whole heap of enhancements down here, so we've got Fairy Meadow as a new station and we're getting extra staff at Kiama and Warilla," she said.
"But unfortunately, when we're getting these staff, they're not being maintained at the levels they need to be at every day."
![The HUS posted these figures to social media, showing where members had reported under-staffing in the past four weeks. Picture supplied The HUS posted these figures to social media, showing where members had reported under-staffing in the past four weeks. Picture supplied](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/HcD9H4nNcktxiWcmkEEpQD/5f41dab4-a963-47cf-b40b-cdbf1df9b68c.jpg/r0_37_1179_938_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"The government said that they recognised that we're a growing area that desperately needed more ambulance resources - but we're not actually getting them."
Resources where they are needed most
A NSW Ambulance spokesperson said the safety of patients and staff was the highest priority, and that the agency moved resources to the places they are needed most.
"In recent weeks, NSW Ambulance has experienced a significant increase in Triple Zero (000) calls, driven by high rates of winter illnesses which, combined with staff sick and carer's leave, continue to place pressure on the health system," the spokesperson said.
"During these periods of high demand, NSW Ambulance continuously moves resources to where they are needed most, to deliver the best possible emergency and mobile health care for the community."
Ms Oxley said the understaffing issue was happening across the state - but has a greater effect in regional areas covering large distances.
"In metro, we can kind of scramble ambulances together a little bit and the consequences are hopefully not as bad but, in the Illawarra or Shoalhaven, if we're not maintaining the number of cars that we need, it's a long way for somebody else to have to come," she said.
"We know that during winter there's going to be delays at hospitals, but one of the things that we are now skilled to do as paramedics is explore alternate pathways and referrals.
"But if we don't have the paramedics out there to do it, we can't be treating patients and making sure that they can get the right kind of healthcare that they required - and instead these patients then just have to take themselves to hospital."
She said paramedics were already facing "ridiculous" pressures amid a busy winter season.
"We know that the winter system is difficult and there are going to be some things about that that we cannot fix overnight," she said.
"But not having the right staffing levels not one of those things.
"It's always good to see the announcements about enhancements for paramedics, but whether they actually play out in real life is also very important."
NSW Ambulance urged people to do their bit to help ease the pressure on the health system by booking a flu vaccine and staying home if you are sick.
They also said 117 paramedics have been added to NSW Ambulance's Illawarra team in recent years.
The state's Strategic Workforce Infrastructure Team program is delivering an additional 2,500 NSW Ambulance staff across NSW, including 500 paramedics for regional NSW, 30 new stations and hundreds more ambulances for rural and regional areas over the coming years.