A North Queensland MP has renewed calls for an ambulance station to be built in Mackay's Northern Beaches region, saying residents are increasingly concerned by the time it takes to receive help.
Bucasia resident Sheldyn Devecchi suffered an anxiety attack in her home earlier this month, which she thought at the time was a heart attack.
"I started feeling pain underneath my left breast area," she said.
"My face was twitching, my left leg muscles were spasming out of control.
Ms Devecchi said it took almost half an hour for paramedics to reach her.
"I believe our Northern Beaches district of Mackay needs an ambulance station," she said.
"I was coming to and from consciousness, physically debilitated … I asked my partner, 'Am I going to die?'
"The pain was incredible — 10 out of 10."
Ms Devecchi said she was glad traffic congestion wasn't an issue at night, but was worried responses might be hampered by the peak hour backlog on Mackay Bucasia Road.
Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) said paramedics arrived 24 minutes after being called.
Ms Devecchi, who was in a stable condition, was treated and taken to the Mackay Base Hospital.
Resourcing meets demand: QAS
Whitsunday MP and leader of North Queensland First, Jason Costigan, said it was not the first time residents had been worried about response times.
The area about 15 kilometres north of the CBD is home to approximately 20,000 people and can only be accessed by Mackay Bucasia Road.
He called on the Queensland Government to fund more ambulance and fire services in the region and build a new station.
"The men and women of the QAS do the very best job they can do with the resources they've got," Mr Costigan said.
"Their professionalism is not being called into question here.
"The Northern Beaches is our premier growth corridor.
"One road in, one road out … that's going to take a long time to fix, so what we should be doing is addressing the ambulance service."
QAS said it was committed to providing timely, quality and appropriate ambulance services and it continuously monitored resourcing across the state.
Factors including how urban or rural a location is, the number of incidents, and community demographics are considered to determine the need for ambulance stations.
It said Mackay had received the equivalent of 16.63 full time staff enhancements in the past two years and that the ambulance network in Mackay is currently resourced to meet community demand.
