The Ambulance Employees Association (AEA) says that at 2pm on Tuesday 31 August there were no available ambulances anywhere on the Fleurieu or in the Adelaide Hills.

SA Ambulance then declared an OPSTAT Code White. 

This alert level is put into place when it is determined that operational capacity, capability or resources are insufficient to maintain effective service delivery for high acuity cases in an area.

The alert came as the Royal Adelaide and Queen Elizabeth Hospitals also declared internal emergencies, due to the heavy demand on their emergency departments.

The Association also claims that an elderly patient was ramped for a record seven hours at the Flinders Medical Centre on Monday night.

The CFS Scan website shows that Victor Harbor Paramedics were under heavy demand all day Tuesday.

Day shift crews were called to Port Elliot at 8.10am, McCracken at 8.12am, Victor Harbor at 9.38am, Goolwa South at 10.49am, Victor Harbor at 11.49am, Hayborough at 1.18pm, Victor Harbor at 2.08pm, Cape Jervis at 2.09pm, Clayton Bay at 2.37pm, Victor Harbor at 5.32pm and then Mount Jagged at 5.53pm.

The volunteer crew at Goolwa also attended five callouts over the course of the day.

In March a local paramedic voiced concerns over the practice of only having one paramedic crew stationed on the Fleurieu between 12am and 7am each night.   

In April a 57-year-old man died at Encounter Bay after collapsing after scuba diving. At the time all local ambulance crews were already attending other calls and it took 25 minutes for the ambulance to arrive. 

The alert sent to ambulance employees on Tuesday: