An Artists’ impression of the new Ambulance station which is being constructed on the grounds of Murrumburrah Hospital. Katrina with NSW Ambulance Inspector Martin Cutler, Duty Operations Manager – Goulburn District at the site of the new Harden Ambulance station, cnr Lucan & Scott Streets.
The residents of the twin towns and surrounds will soon have a brand new ambulance staion at after construction on the project commenced late last week. Speaking at the site of the new Coolamon Ambulance Station, Katrina said the announcement is great news for the local community. “Having a brand new ambulance station at Coolamon, and also at Harden and Ardlethan, with paramedics on hand is going to be absolutely fantastic.” The Rural Ambulance Infrastructure Reconfiguration (RAIR) program will deliver better working environments for our highly trained paramedics, enabling them to provide enhanced mobile emergency medical care to regional and rural communities now and into the future. Planning for the three NSW Ambulance station projects has involved extensive consultation with a broad range of key stakeholders including local paramedics. Coolamon’s first NSW Ambulance station will be built on land generously donated by Coolamon Council on the corner of Wallace and Devlin Streets.
Harden’s brand new NSW Ambulance station will be located on the corner of Lucan and Scott Streets. Once built, both stations will have new: Administration, office area and amenities, On site staff parking, logistics and storage area, an external vehicle wash bay, Administration, office area and amenities, Relief accommodation for paramedics, and a logistics and storage area. To date, the NSW Government has announced 17 upgraded, rebuilt or new regional and rural ambulance stations under the RAIR Program The tender has been awarded to Zauner Constructions Pty Ltd – an Albury based firm which will be sub-contracting locally.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has announced another 450 paramedics will be recruited as part of a $500 million funding package to address growing demand from the public. “Here in NSW we need at least another 500 paramedics to address the critical shortage. NSW Ambulance barely has enough paramedics to fill staff rosters let alone manage a surge like the crisis we have seen in Melbourne because of thunderstorm asthma,’ said Australian Paramedics Association (NSW) Secretary Gary Wilson. Mr Wilson said NSW now had fewer paramedics per head of population than Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, and Tasmania, according to data from the Productivity Commission. (2015) “Is it any wonder then that NSW has one of the worst ambulance response times in Australia?” Mr Wilson said. Mr Wilson said Mike Baird has had a windfall from the sale of electricity poles and wires and it is time to spend some of that money on properly resourcing NSW Ambulance and recruiting at least 500 more paramedics.
New South Wales paramedics have lost their battle with the State Government to maintain death and disability payouts. The Industrial Relations Commission (IRC) has ruled that the expected cost of maintaining the existing scheme was significant.
The IRC said the refusal of the Australian Paramedics Association (APA) and the Health Services Union (HSU) to engage in any meaningful way in the arbitral process greatly assisted the NSW Ministry of Health in achieving its outcome.
The HSU said some paramedics stood to lose about $500,000 worth of entitlements, leaving a maximum payout of about $123,000 available to them.
