WYNDHAM resident’s lives are being put at risk due to cost cutting measures, according to some of the municipality’s ambulance paramedics.
After almost a year of ongoing pay disputes, four Werribee paramedics told Star morale among the emergency workers was at an all-time low.
Danny Hill, Hayley Cobble, Belinda Hadden and Tony Anderson from Werribee ambulance branch said they feared many of their colleagues would soon leave the job.
“At the Werribee branch we have lost good paramedics and we are likely to lose more if conditions don’t improve,” Mr Hill said.
“The Werribee area is getting busier and busier and we need more paramedics right now. We regularly go to patients who have been waiting for hours in agony, when the shifts are not filled, the problem is even worse.”
During their interview with Star, Hayley Cobble and Tony Anderson were called away to transfer an injured person from Deer Park to Alfredton, a suburb in Ballarat, meaning Wyndham was without paramedics for at least an hour.
“What this means is that the Werribee, Hoppers Crossing, Point Cook and Laverton crews are all out,” Mr Hill said.
“If someone has a cardiac arrest just outside the station there is no one here to help.”
Mr Hill said Ambulance Victoria had previously offered a pay increase of 2.5 per cent and five per cent but only if the paramedics gave away conditions such as annual leave, sick leave, meal break provisions, leave loading and accident pay.
“This equates to $1 per week extra with a massive loss of conditions that we need,” Mr Hill said.
Mr Hill said Victorian paramedics were already paid $25,000 less than their South Australian, Western Australian, and Canberra counterparts, despite being the most trained in Australia.
Ambulance Victoria Regional Manager Metro West, Simon Thomson, there was more involved in wage differences than a simple dollar amount.
‘‘Comparing wages between states is not a simple matter as the starting wage level, paramedic roles and overall terms and conditions of employment vary significantly, as does the size of services and their demands,” Mr Thomson said.
“Ambulance Victoria is working hard to find productivities so that shift working paramedics can achieve wage increases above the 2.5 per cent government policy.
“While we’d love to be able to have an ambulance on every corner, it simply isn’t possible.
“Ambulance Victoria now has a sophisticated system which allows us to move ambulances around and ensure they are best placed to be at the right place and respond immediately to life-threatening emergencies 24 hours a day.”
