NSW Ambulance Service: Incompetence and mismanagement

by Marcus Browning

The Health and Research Employees' Association (HREA) — which represents 
ambulance officers and staff — last month began an investigation into 
chronic staffing shortages in the NSW Ambulance Service. The situation has 
been compounded by problems in a computer dispatch service which came into 
operation a year ago, as well as a push by the Service management to 
introduce a new roster system which will change shifts and reduce services 
at a number of stations in Sydney's north.

Five years ago the union came to an agreement with the Service on minimum 
staffing levels, based on the needs at that time. Since then the Service 
has resisted having those minimum staff levels filled and put on the road.

Last week the Ambulance Service CEO Greg Rochford attacked the ambulance 
officers, the staff and the union, blaming them for lags in response times.

The union responded angrily. "Mr Rochford's attempt to blame poor response 
times on high levels of industrial disputation and restrictive work 
practices is quite simply an attempt to cover up his own incompetence and 
mismanagement of the Ambulance Service", said the HREA State Secretary, 
Michael Williamson.

"There have been chronic staffing shortages in the Ambulance Service for 
some time. The Government has allocated the resources to address these 
shortages, but the money has been squandered."

The Service had wasted the money on stop-gap measures such as large amounts 
of overtime, instead of engaging in strategic recruiting to address the 
immediate staff shortage and the long-term staffing needs, Mr Williamson 
said.

The Service itself admits there has been a 20 percent increase in demand 
during the past five years. There are major problems with attrition, with 
five percent of trained ambulance officers (120) leaving each year, caused 
to a large degree by the staff shortages and the resultant excessive 
overtime.

The union says that at the moment there is low morale in the service, given 
that 10 years ago the NSW Ambulance Service was seen as the pre-eminent 
ambulance service in Australia.

The new rosters would reduce crew from the night shift at the Ryde, 
Wahroonga and Narrabeen stations, from two to one for the shift period 
midnight to 8am.

The Service says it wants to utilise those crews at other, peak times 
during the day. But union delegates can document a number of occasions 
during the past month when both crews at these stations were busy during 
the midnight to 8am period.

The HREA accepts that it is important to have crews available at times of 
high demand, but have been given conflicting documentation from the Service 
as to when the peak periods of demand occur, including three different 
reports on the demands of the shifts the Service wants to change.

The roster dispute is currently before the Industrial Relations Commission.

The computer dispatch system has had "considerable problems" from the 
beginning according to the union. "They've got the new technology [mobile 
data terminals] in all of the ambulances", Natalie Bradbury, an organiser 
with the HREA, told "The Guardian".

"But the radio network on which they're operating is not sufficient to 
service the system that they've put in place."

Trained ambulance officers and call-takers operate the dispatch centres: 
the source of the problem comes from the new system being unable to 
function efficiently in the current infrastructure.

A consultant brought in to examine the problems suggested ways to upgrade 
the system, at the cost of millions of dollars.

Ambulance crews in several areas aren't using the technology and are 
relying only on their radios. The union says that the new system, 
originally estimated to cost $15 million, has ballooned out to $40 million 
already, and it still isn't working properly.

"If the radio network needs to be upgraded, we think that's what should 
happen", said Ms Bradbury. "In the interim those areas where our members 
are saying they're experiencing significant and serious difficulties with 
their mobile data terminals ... we're saying they shouldn't have to use 
them if they're not up to scratch at this stage."