THE State Government is delivering on its election commitment for additional paramedics, with 125 additional paramedics set to arrive in regional, rural and remote communities across New South Wales by the middle of 2024.

The first cohort are set to begin their six-week induction programs this month.

Port Macquarie, South West Rocks, Lismore and Ballina are the North Coast locations proposed to receive additional paramedics.

NSW Ambulance will consult with the Health Services Union and local staff about the proposed locations.

NSW Ambulance Chief Executive Dr Dominic Morgan said the new paramedics would “boost NSW Ambulance’s capacity to provide high quality care to patients across NSW”.

“I look forward to welcoming these new paramedics to NSW Ambulance, where they will be able to build upon their skills learned in training to help their local communities.

“We have completed service demand and workforce planning to determine where these important roles will be allocated in regional and rural NSW.”

Minister for Regional Health Ryan Park said the government’s focus was to retain existing paramedics while delivering a “critical increase in paramedic numbers where they are needed most”.

“We know that regional, rural and remote communities are grappling with significant workforce shortages, but we are focused on boosting, recruiting and retaining more health workers,” he said.

The NSW Government will continue to roll out the full additional 500 paramedics over a four year period.

The recruitment of additional health workers follows the announcement of a long-awaited pay increase for paramedics announced in December.