Land emergency: Ambulance service mounts life saving property search

The state paramedic service in NSW has embarked on a hunt for suburban land as part of a $615 million spend to build 30 more ambulance stations across the state. 

NSW Ambulance has put out a call for expressions of interest for sites to build new ambulance stations in 10 suburbs across outer Sydney and the central coast.

Owners of large properties have been encouraged to register as part of an infrastructure program to cut ambulance response times in key suburbs, many of which are located in growth corridors on Sydney’s fringe.

The suburbs set to receive new ambulance stations have been selected from modelling that maps the more than 1.1 million triple-zero calls received by NSW ambulance each year.

New stations will be strategically located in areas where ambulances are most in need, helping to reduce response times.

The rollout of new ambulance stations is expected to improve coverage and shorten paramedic response times . Picture: NSW Ambulance

The suburbs identified for new ambulance stations are Cherrybrook, Kincumber, Raby, Edgeworth, Glenmore Park, Dee Why, Sutherland, Bargo, Berkeley Vale and Doonside.

A Health Infrastructure NSW spokesperson said nominated sites would be evaluated based on size, location, access and traffic considerations, as well other factors that would influence development timelines and costs.

Sites would generally need to be larger than 2000sqm, the spokesperson said, and construction timelines would be determined once planning has progressed further.

A new ambulance station was opened at Mona Vale in 2021. Picture: NSW Ambulance

The NSW government has already spent almost $30 million in the past 10 months acquiring land for four new stations at North Sydney, South Windsor, Oran Park and Berowra.

The North Sydney site on Falcon Street was purchased from Police Citizens Youth Clubs NSW for $11.5 million late last year, while a site occupied by a landscaping business on Pacific Highway at Berowra was purchased for $3.41 million in June.

Greenfield sites in industrial estates were acquired in South Windsor for $6.16 million in April and Oran Park for $8.17 million in June.

This 1323sqm PCYC site at 224-230 Falcon Street, North Sydney was purchased for $11.5 million and will be redeveloped into a new ambulance station. Picture: Google

​NSW health minister Ryan Park said the new infrastructure would improve coverage of the ambulance network and support existing stations.

“These new ambulance stations will bolster emergency care for growing communities across the state and provide a first-class purpose-built workplace for our hardworking paramedics.”​

Land has already been acquired to build a new ambulance station at Oran Park in the south west Sydney growth corridor. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold

The median ambulance response time across NSW for emergency cases was 13.2 minutes in the March quarter of 2024, according to the latest Healthcare Quarterly report from the Bureau of Health Information.

Life-threatening cases had a median response time of 8.3 minutes, while the response time for lower-priority cases was more than 25 minutes.

About 12% of emergency cases had a response time of more than 30 minutes.

Expressions of interest for sites in Cherrybrook, Edgeworth, Glenmore Park, Kincumber and Raby must be submitted by 29 August, while the closing date for Dee Why is 6 September. EOIs for the other sites will commence in the coming weeks.

Landholders can register their interest via the NSW Ambulance website.