Doctors, nurses, paramedics, GPs and health leaders are meeting in Adelaide in a bid to stop ambulance ramping at the city's public hospitals.
Central Adelaide Local Health Network chief executive Lesley Dwyer says no-one thinks it's a good thing to have patients waiting in ambulances outside emergency departments.
"Ramping is not the cause of the problem, it is the symptom of a system that isn't working properly and we need everyone to be part of the solution," Ms Dwyer said on Thursday.
Ramping has been a particular issue at the new Royal Adelaide Hospital in recent months.
The Ambulance Employees Association says the situation has been so bad some days, the availability of ambulances across the metropolitan area has been severely restricted.
Ms Dwyer said the problem would not be solved in a single day but the meeting was a positive step.
"I'm hopeful this will give us a road map to better, more efficient healthcare," she said.
South Australian Ambulance Service chief executive David Place said his staff were working incredibly hard in challenging circumstances.
"We all need to work together to provide better outcomes for our patients because we cannot keep working as we have been," Mr Place said.
