Executive Update: APA (NSW) President Chris Kastelan reflects on the ongoing crisis of Paramedic fatigue and workload

CONTENTS

Executive Update: APA (NSW) President Chris Kastelan reflects on the ongoing crisis of Paramedic fatigue and workload. Delegate Profile: Hear from APA (NSW) Delegate Janna DaRos, a Paramedic at Boggabri Station. 10 Questions with Tony: Anthony Redford chats to Lucas Hawkins from Boggabri Station. Through the Eyes of a Dinosaur: Wayne Flint reflects on his time as a Paramedic as as an advocate with APA (NSW). Cardillo Gray Case Note: Can an employer sack a worker if they have tatoos or an unusual hairstyle? Registration and the Paramedicine Council Information Sheet Member Profile: Ben Gilmour Crib breaks: how to stand up for your wellbeing FAQ: Professional Indemnity Insurance 14 COVID-19: What we've won and why we need to fight to keep it Summary of Member Updates

Crisis point

CHRIS KASTELAN - APA (NSW) PRESIDENT

“Are you refusing duty”?

While the dispatcher might have to say these words, make no mistake, the push to make Paramedics stretch themselves to the limit to hold together a failing health system has always come from the top. Workloads are always increasing, yet NSW Health cannot or will not plan for our current and future workloads. Our Minimum Operating Levels (MOLs) have not changed since 2010. While we are told at Wellness Week and on 'Thank a Paramedic Day' that our mental health and wellbeing is important, the operational and procedural key performance indicators (KPI’s) don’t reflect that this is a priority. We are at crisis point. Paramedics are constantly in high-stress environments and we deal with an enormous workload and sky-high expectations. We face the ‘perfect storm’ of a fatigue-inducing workload every day, with NSW Ambulance redirecting crews across-zone-andsector lines; Paramedics unable to work due to burn out and fatigue; ever increasing demand and; under-resourced hospitals. With professional registration comes the obligation to complete and maintain skills and training, sustain a good rapport with our communities, hold professional indemnity insurance, hold a current WWCC, and more. These requirements are in place so we can make decisions on behalf of the patient and the employer. Yet NSW Ambulance and NSW Health throw all this out the window when a Paramedic says: “I am really tired, I have no resilience left, I'm not sure I can continue on. I really need something to eat and drink. I am not refusing duty, simply assessing my needs and telling you I need to have a break before I can safely work.” They seem to only respect our opinion when it suits them. How is it that an organisation mandated to provide an ambulance service to communities, ruled by medical and clinical standards, the Work Health and Safety Act, stringent organisational policies and procedures, safety alerts and standard operating procedures, can also neglect its own employees to such an extent? I don’t know about you, but I often feel like I am being made a scapegoat for a failing system. I am asked if it is my fault that I can’t keep going, rather than if it is the service failing to appropriately resource the zone, sector or state. As any Paramedic will tell you, we will push through a lot of things. Requesting breaks in this way is not something most Paramedics do, unless the situation is dire. The situation is dire. When a Paramedic asks for a break, it is a cry for help, not a refusal of duty.