text: A report from WA's Auditor General says the St John Ambulance service is far more reliable and better staffed than it was four years ago.
  Colin Murphy was asked to examine whether services had improved since 2009 when an independent review into the organisation identified serious deficiencies.
  He says a funding boost of almost $50 million has resulted in extra staff.
  Mr Murphy found St John's had improved overall but he was concerned about understaffing in regional areas.
  "The key improvements are a significant increase in the number of staff and a complete change to the way calls are taken when people ring up on the 000 emergency line," he said.
  The Auditor-General also voiced concerns about the spike in ramping where ambulances wait outside hospitals until patients can be admitted.
  "The increase in ramping does take ambulances out of service and if it continues to increase it's a threat and a risk to the improvements that have been put in place," he said.
  "While there's this mismatch between supply and demand and ramping goes up, its a real risk to the ambulance service.
  "Over the past couple of years, there was a 35 per cent increase in ramping, this year to date the increase is a staggering 144 per cent."
  St John's CEO Tony Ahern says the group has little control over ramping but works hard to manage it.
  "It's nearly twice as much as it was this time last year, and yet we've got the best response times we've had in more than a decade," he said.
  Mr Ahern says the service has taken great steps forward since 2009.
  "When the review was done in 2009 we gave an absolute commitment to embrace all of the recommendations," he said.
  "The organisation has worked very, very hard, and we feel that the auditor general's look into the organisation has confirmed that that has happened."
  Mr Murphy is calling on the State Government to update the contract between WA Health and St Johns.
  "A more modern and appropriate contract would look at the output we're getting [from] the ambulance service," he said.
  "So, it would look at the quality of service, the timeliness and actually provide incentives for good performance.
  "It's an opportunity for WA Health to revamp the contract so they can better demonstrate we're getting value for money from the ambulance service."