Meet intensive care paramedic Simone

SIMONE HAIGH

Intensive Care Paramedic Ambulance Tasmania Devonport

EVERY day is different, which is one of the positives of the job, as you never know what's going to happen during your shift.

I started as a volunteer 20 years ago and as a student paramedic with Ambulance Tasmania nearly 18 years ago. Before that I studied sports science at uni and was a manager at McDonalds. I've been a HACSU member for the entirety of my employment with Ambulance Tasmania and a delegate for 10 or 11 years. My proudest achievement as a delegate is the senate inquiry into the mental health of first responders. I approached Senator Anne Urquhart with concerns about the mental health of paramedics nationally, a serious matter, and she then organised the inquiry. Sadly, the since deposed federal government produced a very poor reply to the inquiry's recommendations. First responders have a significantly higher rate of mental injury, PTSI and suicide than the general public. At the time of the reply to the report, the black summer bushfires had concluded. This meant the majority of the reply was about public, not first responder, mental health support in relation to the fires. The government neglected to address any other first responder throughout the country – only those involved with the fires. Funding commitments for support in the reply put first responders in with the general public, but they have specific needs and need appropriately trained providers. It's incredibly disappointing that the Coalition government neglected those who keep the community safe. Now Labor is in power in Canberra I'll continue to lobby and fight for better support for first responders. Other than that it's the usual delegate stuff and lots of campaigns of various sizes. In the future I hope to see the service move forward as it seems to be stuck for a while with no forward momentum. Workplace culture is slowly getting better but I think it's a priority and will make for a safer and happier workplace if it can be improved. My favourite thing to do when not at work is showing my dogs or dog sports such as tracking and track and search with my 2 Weimaraners Oskar and Ned. My favourite song is Nothing Else Matters by Metallica, fave film is a tie between the original Ghostbusters and Hot Fuzz, and fave book is A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson.