A LONG-SERVING western suburbs ambulance officer has backed up union Ambulance Employees Australia’s stance that shifts that run hours over time and a lack of rest in between jobs are putting ambulance officers at real risk of causing a fatality – or of becoming one themselves.
The officer, who did not want to be named for fear of repercussions in the workplace, said the survey of Victorian ambos indicating a mass exodus from the profession because of work conditions was just the tip of the iceberg in revealing cracks in the ranks of the service.
“I’ve made mistakes, almost made mistakes and other officers have made mistakes that could get someone hurt or worse, all because we’re run-down,” he said.
“Stress leave is a regular occurrence in the Metropolitan Ambulance Service (MAS); our argument is not just about the money, money won’t fix everything – it’s about our health and the patients.”
The officer said while gazetted shifts were 10 hours for days and 14 hours for nights, shifts of 12 and 16 hours were not unusual – but consistent 10-hour rest periods were.
“This week, my first day shift was 11 hours and we had seven incidents, including a couple of cardiac arrests. The second night shift was 15 and a half hours,” he said.
“Seven incidents in 11 hours doesn’t seem like much, but people forget that it’s not just getting to a patient and treating them – there are patients who need transport to hospital and you have to do your paperwork for each incident that shift – if you don’t you can get some serious trouble.
“We’re supposed to have 10 hours between shifts, but that starts at the time you are supposed to finish.
“If you finish an hour and a half, two hours after your shift, you don’t get 10 hours.”
The officer said potentially fatal incidents ranged from drawing the wrong drugs for a patient to increasing hazards at accident scenes.
“A couple of times we’ve drawn up the wrong drugs – put the needle in the cannula and rechecked the drug before pushing the plunger on the syringe, (and) found it’s the wrong drug,” he said.
“But it’s not just the wrong drugs.
“We’re supposed to respond to jobs in a purposeful and alert manner – you’ve got to assess whether you’re going to hurt a patient, preparation of where and how to park the car at a major accident and when you park the car incorrectly, you put the whole scene – including yourself and the patient – at risk.
“We get calls to a lot of violent situations these days; alcohol-inflamed situations.
“You can’t act appropriately or as quick in those situations when you’re fatigued.”
The officer said the ambulance reserve system, which could place ambulance officers from stations across the MAS region into services up to two hours from their home base, was adding to the lost rest time.
“If you finish a shift and you have to drive home from the other side of the city, even if you finish on time you’re down to eight hours’ break, then you have to go back and do it again,” he said.
In June ambulance officers were listed in an Australia-wide survey as the ‘most trusted’ profession, but they earn up to 50 per cent less than lawyers, real estate agents and car salesman, who rank 32, 36 and 38 out of 40 on the trustworthy scale.
According to the western suburbs officer, while ambulance officers are more trustworthy, they are also potentially more dangerous.
“By law, truck drivers can’t drive for more than 12 hours out of every 24,” he said. “They’ve got to take regular breaks too.
“We have ambos that drive for 14 hours, go home for a couple of hours, come back and do it again.
“Tell me, how you can let a tired ambo drive at 120 to 140km/h through residential streets when a truck driver can’t drive a deserted highway for more than a few hours without a rest?
“Tell me how that works.”
