We love ambos. We’ve had occasion to call them to our household four times and every time they have been calm, professional, and friendly.
At the 2022 state election, I was quite swayed by the Labor leader’s pledge to fix the ramping issue in South Australia; the practice of ambulances being stacked up at hospitals, waiting for beds to free up so they can admit their patients.
Sadly, things have not improved greatly, if at all (depending upon who’s reporting). As a colleague pointed out to me, our ageing population means we should expect this unless we are going to sink tons of extra money into bigger hospitals and a lot more care at home. But the problem is, the glaring, core election promise had set expectations high. Too high, as it turns out.
In November 2025, the President of the Australian Medical Association in South Australia (AMA SA) Associate Professor Peter Subramaniam said the 2026 South Australian election must be a ‘turning point’ to address ambulance ramping.
According to the AMA, 3,984 hours were lost on the ramp across Adelaide’s public hospitals in October 2025, and although that was a marked improvement since winter of 2025, it was worse than October 2024 when 2,983 hours were lost on the ramp.
That’s why the thought of ambos stranded for hours all day and night at hospitals got me thinking, will this extra time with nothing else to do allow infatuation and love to seep in between the gaps? Real paramedic accounts highlight flirtation blooming in these waits, with whispered plans over monitors, etc.
And that’s why I now present to you, I Ramped All Night With You (The Ambo Love Song).
But what of small talk? In my song, the ambos revert to what they know well, the IMIST-AMBO framework for paramedic handovers.
- Identification: Patient name, age, gender, date of birth.
- Mechanism: Incident details (e.g., “fall from 2m ladder”).
- Injuries/Illness: Chief complaint and relevant history.
- Signs/Symptoms: Pain score, observations (vitals).
- Treatment: Interventions given (meds, procedures).
- Allergies: Known allergies or “nil known”.
- Medications: Current or administered drugs.
- Background: Past history, social factors.
- Other: Relevant info like next of kin.
All love and respect to our ambos and other first responders. You are people with a calling and I hope you also find love in a sustainable way.
I Ramped All Night With You Lyrics
[Verse 1]
I saw you today
The traffic stopped for you
They gave you right of way
That’s the proper thing to do
Your hair was fire engine red
Your clothes were emerald green
I didn’t know what lay ahead
I just hoped fate would intervene
[Refrain 1]
And then it did
The whole world stopped
We hit the skids
We were gridlocked
Our ambulance was told
To go and join the queue
And what did I behold
I got to spend more time with you
{Chorus]
Love on the ramp
Love in the bay
You held my hand
Time slipped away
We checked each other’s
Vital signs
Our patients’ too
From time to time
And I’ll remember how my world flashed red and blue
As I ramped,
As I ramped, all night, with you
[Verse 2]
Tell me what’s your name
And what’s your date of birth
And what’s been your history
Of your time down here on earth
Any injury or illness
Any symptoms, any signs
Would you hold me in this stillness
So we can pass away the time?
[Refrain 2]
And then we did
The whole world stopped
We hit the skids
We were gridlocked
Our ambulances were told
To go and join the queue
And what did I behold
I got to spend more time with you
[Instrumental break and big build up]
[Chorus]
Love on the ramp
Love in the bay
You held my hand
Time slipped away
We checked each other’s
Vital signs
Our patients’ too
From time to time
And I’ll remember how my world flashed red and blue
As I ramped,
As I ramped, all night, with you
[Verse 3]
We’d both bring oysters
And we brought caviar
We found ambo cloisters
Down at Flinders and the RAH
We both knew that it had to end
That it can’t go on this way
Did we have time to love again
‘Til one of us were called away ?
[Refrain 3]
And yes we did
The whole world stopped
We hit the skids
We were gridlocked
Our ambulances were told
To go and join the queue
And what did I behold
I got to spend more time with you
[Instrumental break and big build up]
[Chorus]
Love on the ramp
Love in the bay
You held my hand
Time slipped away
We checked each other’s
Vital signs
Our patients’ too
From time to time
And I’ll remember how my world flashed red and blue
As I ramped,
As I ramped, all night, with you
[Bridge]
We love being ambos
And trust love will find a way
But we weren’t trained for go-slows
We were trained to save the day …
[Refrain 4]
And try we did
‘Til the whole world stopped
We hit the skids
We were gridlocked
Our ambulances were told
To go and join the queu
And what did I behold
I got to spend more time with you
[Chorus]
Love on the ramp
Love in the bay
You held my hand
Time slipped away
We checked each other’s
Vital signs
Our patients’ too
From time to time
And I’ll remember how my world flashed red and blue
As I ramped,
As I ramped, all night, with you
And I’ll remember how my world flashed red and blue
As I ramped,
As I ramped, all night, with you
Listen To I Ramped All Night With You
I Ramped All Night With You Raw Scratchings
Here are my original lyrics. In the studio, I made some tweaks after hearing them.
