The campaign by rural paramedics to stave off the introduction of the rosters (BDN, 7/9) took a blow this week when the IRC’s Justice Staff recommended that the rosters can be introduced starting from October 20.

The Health Services Union said the rosters will see paramedics in country NSW working more frequent shifts with longer on-call periods.

“Our members are reeling from this decision,” HSU acting industrial manager Tom Stevanja said.

“We’ve been fighting for months against these changes, which are certain to put rural paramedics at risk of fatigue, and of the accidents and errors that arise from fatigue. 

“The recommendations rely on management at the local level acting to address issues affecting individual officers. 

“We don’t see this as workable. 

“The rosters are inflexible and staff levels are critically inadequate,” he said.

Secretary of the HSU South East Ambulance sub-branch Mick Grayson said local paramedics feel abandoned by the IRC.

“Our arguments put forward, which were based on experience, have amounted to nothing – they have been dismissed,” Mr Grayson said.

“Clearly when every paramedic is screaming out that this won’t work, you’ve got it horribly wrong,” Mr Grayson said.

Last month, Mr Grayson called on the Ambulance Service to “look at addressing what is actually impacting on us” (BDN, 14/9).

He highlighted issues such as “hospital block” (where a paramedic crew is held up waiting for a hospital bed for their patient), or the long-distance transfers that take up a hefty proportion of the Bega station’s workload.

After Tuesday’s IRC recommendations, the HSU again raised long distance hospital transports the “key issue” for overworked paramedics.

“These are often scheduled after hours and are a known contributor to fatigue,” Mr Stevanja said.

“Justice Staff’s recommendations rely on the Ambulance Service negotiating with local health authorities to minimise these trips. 

“Our experience shows this is just not going to happen.”

South Coast paramedics are meeting with their local union officials today to discuss the IRC recommendations.

“Our members are angry and frustrated,” Mr Stevanja said.

“They’re gutted, but they know that they owe it to themselves and to their communities to keep up the fight.”

MEANWHILE

THE Ambulance Service of NSW this week welcomed a decision from the Industrial Relations Commission, which ruled in favour of reforms to paramedic rosters in regional NSW.

Ambulance’s acting chief executive, Mike Willis, said the decision from Justice Staff supported the service’s reform process. 

“Ambulance is changing paramedic rosters to better meet the needs of the communities of regional NSW,” Mr Willis said.

“In regional NSW where peak demand period continues into the evenings, on-call paramedics currently face extended work hours due to the high number of disturbances out of hours. 

“The new roster system sees additional shifts introduced during this peak evening period to reduce that need for paramedics to be called out after hours. 

“This helps support better patient response and helps minimise staff fatigue.”

Mr Willis said Ambulance agreed to the recommendations of Justice Staff, which included: 

• Ambulance will undertake a review of the workability of the rural reform rosters in respect of phase one, after such rosters have operated for a period of three consecutive 28-day roster periods.

• Ambulance will take into account the desires of paramedics to work particular days, as well as instituting recommended human resource management processes to deal with grievances if they are not addressed at a local level.

• Ambulance will liaise with Local Health Districts with a view to minimising, as far as possible, non-urgent hospital transfers between midnight and 8am, and any other matters to assist with addressing paramedic fatigue.

• In line with the Industrial Relations Act 1996, the Health Services Union and Ambulance employees are not to organise, participate or be involved in any industrial action arising from the introduction of the rural reform rosters at regional non-24-hour stations that provides for the working of an eight-hour day shift and an eight-hour afternoon shift.

The introduction of new rosters will be undertaken over a number of weeks to enable paramedics to make the necessary adjustments to family and child care arrangements.

These changes are likely to come into effect in the Bega Valley in early November.