Boss defends ambo services

Kim Waters
AMBULANCE Victoria has hit back at allegations in last week’s Independent of understaffing at Geelong’s ambulance dispatch centre.
Ambulance Victoria general manger of specialist services Mark Rogers said the workload of staff at the Geelong centre was at an “appropriate level”.
Mr Rogers met Ballarat paramedics after last week’s Independent revealed they had voted a motion of no-confidence in the Geelong dispatch centre, which was now handling their call-outs.
The Ballarat paramedics believed the move to Geelong highlighted a shortfall in ambulance services.
“We met with staff involved on Tuesday to discuss their claims and the current situation. We have investigated the claims made and have discussed the outcomes with our staff,” Mr Rogers said.
“This will include providing examples and explanations and highlighting changes to our practice.”
Mr Rogers promised 41 new paramedics for the service’s Barwon South-West region.
But the new recruits would not start work until “early next year” when they had finished university, he said.
“There will be some upgrade of services to give more coverage and the extra paramedics will also provide for better breaks and sick leave coverage, meaning a higher level of coverage overall.”
Ambulance Employees Australia state secretary Steve McGhie said more paramedics were needed on the ground “now”.
“The longer we wait for that the longer people’s lives will be put at risk,” he said.
“The only thing that will fix this is to make sure there are enough ambulance crews to cover the workload.”
Mr McGhie said the centre had repeatedly dispatched Ballarat paramedics to cases in Geelong on code one emergencies, leaving the Ballarat region “desperately short” of ambulance help.
“There are also instances of ambulances being sent to the wrong address,” he said.
“These problems have been going on for a while now and they were highlighted as potential issues before the call centre was moved but Ambulance Victoria pushed ahead with the relocation anyway.”