Merimbula paramedics are concerned that a new roster provides less coverage during the busy daytime period despite a doubling of staff.
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And they have the full support of member for Bega and Infrastructure Minister Andrew Constance who is calling on Health Minister Brad Hazzard to intervene.
Merimbula paramedics have been working with one crew (two paramedics) and a floating crew member during the day and then the same people on call at night on a four day on/four day off roster. The new roster which starts June 24, has a single crew during the day and a single crew at night.
Paramedics have long pressed their case for additional resources for the Far South Coast and are pleased to have six new paramedics coming to Merimbula but equally there is concern that the new rosters will leave a gap at the busiest time of the day.
South Coast president of the HSU paramedics branch Mick Grayson said that Merimbula is one of the busiest stations in NSW in terms of the call outs covered per ambulance.
“The annual figures for Merimbula are 1500 daylight jobs and 600 cases at night. If you invest in six paramedics in Merimbula you want to see a better service for Merimbula, but there is no improvement,” Mr Grayson said.
He and local HSU delegate Chris Branson want to see two crews rostered on during the day and an on-call roster for the night which with the extra staff involved would not be as onerous as it is currently.
“Effectively we have less ambulance coverage although the staff have doubled,” Mr Branson said.
They have the full support of Mr Constance too.
“I'm backing the local paramedics. The Minister must intervene and support them,” Mr Constance said.
“I'm advised that there are a number of additional personnel appointments but we need the issues around rostering and additional ambulances addressed asap.
“These people are amazing and deserve our full support. Having heard directly about their concerns I want the new Minister to intervene and I will be taking the matter up with him,” Mr Constance added.
Mr Branson points to the closure of the Pambula Hospital emergency department as a contributing factor saying that ambulances spend more time on the road.
“The population is in the south of the shire and to adequately cover it we need two ambulances on the day shift. The 65km trip from Eden to South East Regional Hospital and 35km trip from Merimbula means that ambulances spend more time away from their community,” Mr Branson said.
“Our position is one where safety is first and foremost. This roster doesn’t match the needs of the community,” he added.
NSW Ambulance deputy director operations, southern, Brian White said that Merimbula paramedics approached NSW Ambulance with safety and wellbeing concerns as a result of their roster which had the potential to have paramedics working five on call shifts in a row.
“Traditionally, Merimbula paramedics have been rostered to work a day shift with the same paramedics being on call at night. NSW Ambulance took action and introduced an interim roster with additional resources; reducing the number of shifts that staff are required to be on call (a 40 per cent reduction in on call shifts from five to three),” Mr White said.
“Extensive consultation was undertaken with staff and a new roster is scheduled to be introduced on June 24. This roster expands operations and will see a fresh crew start every morning (0700-1900) and every night (1900-0700). This represents a significant increase in staff and will enable NSW Ambulance to continue to deliver high quality out-of-hospital care for the communities of Merimbula and surrounds, today and into the future.
“These roster improvements provide Merimbula paramedics with an opportunity to rest and rejuvenate and are expected to significantly improve safety to staff by reducing potential fatigue. NSW Ambulance strongly views that the increase in staff and corresponding reduction in fatigue by not requiring paramedics to respond to emergencies from their home when they have completed duty shifts is very much in the interests of both the paramedics and the local community of Merimbula,” Mr White added.
President of SOHI (Save Our Hospital Inc) Sharon Tapscott said that the health department had created the void with the closure of the emergency service at Pambula Hospital.
“If the health department is creating a void then they must fill it somewhere else and resource it. Paramedics are spending more time driving than looking after people. This has been an impost on drivers and vehicles,” Ms Tapscott said.
Chair of the Pambula Hospital Community Engagement Committee (PHCEC) Les Stahl, said it was critical to ensure good ambulance coverage especially with the hospital changes and development of the regional hospital in Bega.
“PHCEC highlighted in its report last year the importance of both the health service and the ambulance service developing good protocols to ensure appropriate ambulance coverage for the southern communities of the Bega Valley Shire,” Mr Stahl said.
Mr Grayson cautioned: “With the increased promotion around stroke awareness and chest pains and the need to call 000 we don’t want people to stop phoning for an ambulance. We want people to have the confidence that an ambulance will turn up in a timely manner.”