Media release – HACSU, 1 September 2022
North-west paramedics take action as ramping hours blow out yet again
North-west paramedics will today stop work on time and gather at the MCH to take action against the continued dithering of the state government.
This industrial action comes in response to threats to the safety of workers and the community as ambulance ramping worsens across the state.
“Ambulance response times have blown out to 15 minutes,” said HACSU Assistant Secretary Lucas Digney. “They were already the worst in the country but now they’re almost at double the recommended time for urgent calls.”
The Tasmanian Ambulance Service runs on forced overtime from paramedics.
On Tuesday night, the north-west coast alone had an astounding 10 vacant shifts, leaving almost one third of the shifts uncovered, because staff are stretched beyond the limits of the overtime they can work.
Chronic underinvestment in hospital infrastructure and frontline staff has festered, leaving the state’s health system rife with regular bed block and ambulance ramping while paramedics are expected to fill the gaps.
Despite government claims that they have added to the staffing pool, the jobs are often not permanently funded or not recruited for, leaving overtime as the perpetual fallback staffing model.
“It’s enough to make paramedics sick,” said Lucas Digney.
“At this stage we cannot rule out further industrial activity. Our members are the busiest paramedics in the nation, and they deal with the worst response times for the worst pay.”
“They can’t respond to community cases. They can’t care for patients in hospitals. They can’t even fill their core rosters.”
“Paramedics have been calling for change for years and the government has done nothing to actually fix the problems.”
Meanwhile, the government continues to make a mockery of the bargaining process for the next Ambulance wages agreement, with suggestions that an offer of a real-terms wage cut is on the horizon.
