SAAS provides South Australians with emergency ambulance services and pre-hospital medical care, non-emergency patient transport and other associated services.
Often the first point of contact for people needing care, SAAS has a diverse team of highly skilled clinicians and a range of clinical services to meet the changing needs of the SA community.
When someone calls Triple Zero (000) for medical assistance, our response can include many members of a large team of career and volunteer staff.
Our response starts in the Emergency Operations Centre where an Emergency Medical Dispatch Support Officer quickly determines whether the case is life-threatening or urgent – like a cardiac arrest – or less urgent.
This initial triage process allows the most urgent cases to be given the highest priority and the most appropriate clinicians to be assigned to each case.
Provide emergency and non-emergency care across South Australia.
SAAS MedSTAR doctors and nurses provide critical care and retrieval services for critically ill patients across SA.
Over 1400 people in regional areas support their local communities by training and enlisting as ambulance volunteers.
Are some of our most experienced clinicians and able to treat many conditions in the patient’s own home, helping them avoid hospital. FAQs.
Provide clinical care and rescue support in high-risk situations and other places where access and extrication are difficult.
Transport patients between hospitals to receive more specialised care, between aged care facilities or back to their home-town after a stay in a metropolitan hospital.
Conduct clinical assessments by phone for people with non-urgent conditions, and streamline their access to a range of health services.
Consist of a paramedic and a mental health professional, supporting people in a mental health crisis and connecting them to community-based services.
Have specialised training and equipment to provide obese patients with care, transport, extrication and assistance with falls.
Are based in Ceduna and Robe, partnering with local service providers to help vulnerable people manage their health and avoid hospitalisation.
An emergency department is often not the best place for people who do not require emergency or acute care and we have been working collaboratively with other health providers to develop new services.
These services are improving South Australians’ access to health care by offering faster access, more holistic care and ongoing support. Learn more about care pathways here.
On average SAAS answers 788 Triple Zero calls each day relating to medical emergencies that include a shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, a loss of consciousness or chest pain, significant blood loss or head injury, a heart attack or stroke.
SAAS Patient Transport Services manage the response and transport of elective, non-emergency, and low acuity patients, but may be tasked to support Emergency crews as required.
SAAS MedSTAR provides rapid clinical and pre-hospital trauma care and retrieval services, along with 24/7 clinical support and advice to country and metropolitan health services and SAAS clinicians.
Have you ever thought about becoming an ambulance volunteer? There are more than 1200 volunteers in regional South Australia in over 70 volunteer teams.
SAAS has improved South Australians’ access to health care by helping to develop new care pathways that provide an alternative to a hospital emergency department.
Assess the potential risks associated with your event in advance to enable appropriate planning and engagement of the most suitable medical resources for an event, which may be SAAS or an alternate service provider.
Clinical Telephone Assessment can ensure patients are guided to the most appropriate care for their situation. A paramedic discusses the patient’s symptoms in detail over the phone to determine the best possible course of action for the patient.
SAAS maintain a record of South Australian publicly accessible AEDs. If there is an AED in your building, we need to know.
Without a level of ambulance cover, standard fees apply and are billed to the patient receiving care. Ambulance services in South Australia are not free. Find out how much an ambulance response could cost you.
