AMBULANCE WIN: FIGHT BACK AGAINST FATIGUE

Tasmanians watched paramedics walk off the job for the first time in decades last year in high-pressure, high-stakes negotiations for a new Ambulance Agreement. And after a very public blue with the government, the ambos have emerged victorious.

This marathon bout of negotiations for a new Ambulance Agreement saw paramedics and other ambulance workers pushed to breaking point in a fight for health.

It’s no secret that our ambulance service has been in crisis. We can all see ramping when we pass by a major hospital, and it’s hard to miss an ambulance with massive chalk writing on it.

But what often isn’t so visible is fatigue: the silent scourge of our Ambulance service, which leaves first responders exhausted and burnt out, ultimately costing some their careers – and costing our community paramedics.

At the heart of it, this was the story of workers – and our health services – pushed to the brink.

“They think it’s just about a meal”

Fatigue doesn’t just happen. It grows every time you’re not able to rest and recover, so ambos were fighting to get that chance to rest.

It wasn’t uncommon for ambos to go without meal breaks for hours, or be forced to take them whilst ramped at the hospital. When you’re working as a first responder your break isn’t about shoving food into your mouth as quickly as possible: it’s about being able to recharge to get back out there ready to respond to an emergency.

Intensive Care Paramedic Tammy Lee explained it like this: “We call it a meal break, but it’s a guaranteed period of time that you can just know that you’re covered, you’re not going to be tasked with another case. Of course part of it is that you get to eat your meal. But it’s about the break.”

“Sitting in the ambulance bay while you’re on meal break for 30 minutes – that’s not a break. You know that’s not downtime. That’s not taking you away and giving you time to clear your head.”

It isn’t just missed meals that contributes to ambos’ fatigue.

It’s being held back at work when their shift is supposed to have ended because there isn’t anyone else to send to a high-priority case. It’s being stuck on the ramp endlessly, knowing they’re not on the road and ready to respond in the area they’re meant to be in.

It’s wondering if things might have been different if the health system was working properly.

Ramping explained: the public face of a failing health system

Ramping is just a symptom of a health system in crisis. The cause of ramping isn’t to do with ambulance services at all: it’s due to bed block and blockages in patient flow within a hospital.

When a hospital is working normally and has patient flow, you’ll go in, you’ll go into Emergency, and they’ll see you and decide whether you need to be admitted. Then you’re moved up to wherever you need to go for care, and you’re discharged later on once you’ve been treated.

Ramping happens because the hospital can’t get people out and discharged. That can be because there’s nowhere for people to go to – maybe there are no nursing home places or no specialised care beds elsewhere – or because there aren’t enough staff on to do the

The next frontier: How Tasmania could still lose 90 paramedics

Ambulance workers have had huge wins. But the fight for our ambulance services isn’t over. Whilst we’re turning the tide on fatigue, there are still some big worries on the horizon.

Right now, there are over 90 ambulance workers who are essential to keeping our ambulance service running who are only on fixed-term contracts, and the funding runs out in June. There’s no doubt that Tasmania needs every one of them.

A paramedic said, “When that ends, that’ll be over 90 paramedics no longer able to perform their tasks on road. And we are already understaffed, which means that just puts the community at a greater risk.”

Contract paramedics are left to wonder if they’ll have a job, and how they’re supposed to plan their lives in this kind of uncertainty.

“Not having a permanent position means there’s a lack of job security. That makes my life very unpredictable and I don’t really feel like I can move forward in my personal life and career pathway.”

It’s not uncommon for these paramedics to consider leaving the service in search of job security elsewhere – whether in other careers, on discharges and open up beds in the hospital wards. the mainland. “I am seeing very talented paramedics leave in order to seek job security. Those that apply for permanency that were Tassie trained and didn’t get the permanency – they have to seek it elsewhere. They’re young, they’re trying to build a life, secure themselves.”

Because of that, you get a backlog and people get stuck in emergency. When you can’t move people out of the emergency department, there’s no beds for paramedics to put patients on and that’s when ramping occurs.

When ramped, you’re not actually stuck on the hospital ramp. You’ll be on a stretcher in the hallway of a hospital, or perhaps in a dedicated “ramping ward” – but you can see when it’s happening because of the ambulances sitting parked up on the ramp whilst paramedics are inside with their patients.

And ultimately, what can happen – and has happened in the last 12 months – is that people die waiting on the ramp.

“Health demands are only going to get greater. If you lose a multitude of paramedics, you’re going to hit a crisis point.”

Huge News

Since this article was written, the Tasmanian Government have announced that the 97 paramedics on fixed-term contracts will be converted to permanent roles.

We fought hard for this and we’re celebrating it as a huge win for HACSU paramedics – and for Tasmanians!

“The fight isn’t just for me”

Winning the battle over the Ambulance Agreement is a testament to the power of Tasmanian ambos standing together, united, and the community backing them in. That’s what solidarity amongst working people looks like – and solidarity is what changes the world.

Paramedic Jan Pur was proud of his part in the fight.

“The fight isn’t just for me, but it’s for all of my colleagues. There’s so many people out there on short-term contracts. And these actions are important – there’s strength in being in a union. And the more of us that are actively doing this, the more pressure there is to make sure that things improve.”

“So if you’re ever doubting ‘Should I be a part of it? Should I do it?’ Always yes. The more of us that do it, the better it is for everyone. And keep in mind that maybe you’re doing it for the people that can’t. And together we’ll do better.”