Firefighters have been placed on standby to respond to medical emergencies in the state's South after an "absolutely shambolic" two days for Ambulance Tasmania staff across the state.
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The firefighters union described the request, which can result in firefighters being sent to assist patients with general first aid or CPR until paramedics arrive, as rare and one which "does put the community at risk".
"We are certainly happy to help out," said United Firefighters Union Tasmania branch vice president Leigh Hills. "But we wouldn't like to see it become a regular occurrence."
The level five surge was in place for a "short period" on Tuesday due to the number of calls being received, Ambulance Tasmania chief executive Neil Kirby confirmed. This was deactivated at about 4.30pm with no Tasmania Fire Service crews called on for assistance.
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Mr Kirby noted surge levels were a normal management tool used to deploy ambulance resources against real-time demand to ensure those in the most critical need of emergency medical assistance received it first.
Though Health and Community Services Union Tasmania assistant state secretary Robbie Moore said he didn't think the situation had "ever been that bad" with multiple ambulances ramped in Hobart and Launceston.
"It's absolutely shambolic," Mr Moore said. "[It] shows why we need more crews and more paramedics in Launceston."
Addressing media Tuesday morning, Premier Will Hodgman said Ambulance Tasmania did a "good job" of balancing the number of functions it fulfilled for the community.
Mr Hodgman added that the government was "well aware" of the issues and had already acted on a number of recommendations from the recent access solutions meeting to address them.
Labor leader Rebecca White labelled the system "broken". "We need more paramedics and we need them now," Ms White said in a statement.
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