Police non-attendance at VKI received calls.

• a crime to be in progress or
• a crime to have already occurred, or
• persons at the scene may present a significant threat.

As you will be aware a recent WAPOL directive has been sent out to the fleet stating they will not be attending many of our historic calls for assistance. Over half of the warnings, we had on our system are now deleted.

So, now we have instances where patients on scene have been threatening to kill others and the Police are refusing to attend.

This is beyond dangerous for all front line crews

If you arrive at a scene or are sent to a call where you and you perceive a threat on route. CALL FOR POLICE, that’s your job done! It is NOT OUR JOB to enter scenes such as these, its theirs. If they don’t want to attend, then we do not go in. ITS THAT SIMPLE!

Officers who feel pressured to enter a scene they perceive is dangerous should NOT GO INTO IT.

The AEAWA will support its members 100%
YOUR SAFETY IS OUR PRIORITY
Everyone deserves to go home after shift, uninjured.

• You must give at least 2 hours for a day shift and 4 hours for a night shift where possible.
• You will be asked if it is personal or sick leave.
• You may need to submit a medical certificate or a Statutory Declaration.
• Either is acceptable evidence.
• You do not need to provide anything further.

Section 33.3 (h)
St John may require an Employee, and the Employee must provide, satisfactory documentary evidence in relation to a period of personal/carer’s leave. The Employee must provide to St John a medical certificate from a registered health practitioner. If it is not reasonably practicable to provide a medical certificate, the Employee may provide a statutory declaration, which sets out the reasons for the Employees absence from work and the estimated duration of the Employees incapacity.

Section 33.3 (i)
An Employee is required to provide evidence/certification for any personal leave exceeding 2 continuous days or where they have taken in excess of 4 calendar days in any calendar year.

Workplace Law: Fact of the Day

An employer can give you lawful and reasonable instruction, and wilfully ignoring a lawful and reasonable instruction can be considered serious misconduct which can lead to termination. The crucial issue is whether an instruction is ‘reasonable and lawful’.

An employee cannot be expected to follow an employer’s directive ‘if carrying out such a directive would cause serious or imminent risk to the health or safety of the employee or other workers’. Refusing to follow a directive under such circumstances does NOT constitute serious misconduct and therefore CANNOT result in summary dismissal.

The AEAWA would consider inadequate Infection Prevention & Control measures as constituting a serious/imminent risk to the health of yourself, your co-workers and your patients, especially during a declared health emergency pandemic. Therefore in our opinion an instruction which would lead to such an OH&S risk will be neither lawful nor reasonable.

In accordance with our EBA, any manager (whether operational or clinical, on secondment or permanent appointed) seeking to work an on road shift with a Paramedic or Ambulance Officer, needs the prior agreement of the rostered officer. This is part of our EBA, and affords officers protection against potential conflict of interest occurring, in the course of that shift, or in relation to previous and future disciplinary process.

Prior to the commencement of the shift, you should have been contacted by rosters to gain your consent. Of course there may well be no issues on many occasions, but if an officers feels uncomfortable through previous managerial interactions, they have the right to refuse and we will support them 100%.

This morning you would have received an email from the St John WA Ambulance Service Director. This email was sent during a meeting between St John management and the AEAWA regarding their intended ramping strategies. During the course of this meeting, St John WA sent the email to the workforce before any real consultation had taken place, and certainly before the meeting had even concluded. A section of this email states that ‘double up of suitable patients is mandatory’.

This was not discussed in the meeting. As we have previously, we would like to take this opportunity to remind our members that so called ‘multi-patient care’ is not endorsed as routine by the AEAWA, and it is an issue which we remain in dispute over.

The AEAWA object to the use of the term ‘mandatory’ without providing suitable qualification on the following grounds:

• NO true consultation occurred, and the email was sent before feedback was received.
• The CEO has on numerous occasions stated to the media that paramedics are not trained or equipped to deal with ramping.
• The Medical Director has stated ‘ramping poses a significant clinical risk’.
• The AEAWA believes this constitutes a ‘major change’ to our employment conditions and are more than happy to challenge this through the Fair Work Commission.

Despite this directive, the Patient Flow and Ramping SOP remains the guiding document in relation to ‘multi-patient care’. We would remind our members that suitability (or not) of a specific patient for ‘multi patient care’ is determined, as per the SOP, by a clinical ‘discussion between the ATTENDING OFFICERS’ of both crews. It is NOT a clinical discussion between the HLM/AM as they have played no part in either patient’s clinical care, nor will they play a part in clinical care going forward.

For the benefit of our members, the SOP states that certain patients ‘may not be suitable for multiple patient care’ including:

• those affected by drugs (and/or) alcohol.
• those that require one on one care or have complex needs.
• patients with more complex social or medical issues that still require one on one care, for example contagious illness, potential absconders.
• patients requiring ‘ongoing cardiac monitoring’.

It is our view that the wording is clear; the SOP indicates that there are a range of patients that are unsuitable for ‘multiple patient care’ including patients requiring ongoing cardiac monitoring.

In relation to ‘ongoing cardiac monitoring’ the Clinical Services intranet site ‘Lessons Learned’
dated 13th January 2021 states: ‘Where available, almost everyone should get an ECG’ [and] ‘Broadly speaking, if your patient falls under any of the Neurological, Respiratory or Circulation CPG, there’s a very good chance that the patient should have at least a 3-lead ECG applied’ [and goes on] ‘In conclusion, in most patients & as a bare minimum, a 3-lead ECG should form a part of standard monitoring & observations.’

The safety of our members and our patients is paramount.

There have been a number of serious clinical events occur on the ramp, so please be mindful of this additional clinical risk when accepting multiple patient care arrangements. It may be necessary to request an additional CorPuls monitor if requested to undertake multi patient care.

SJA has had ample time (in fact 12 years) to work alongside the Department of Health to understand the most significant question in relation to ramping; who owns the patient? As always contact an AEAWA committee member should you have any issues.

Recently we have been contacted by an increasing number of our members who have either been called or texted by the staff deployment team while OFF DUTY. This has resulted in interrupted R&R, interrupted sleep between night shifts, interrupted family time AND can often result in excessive travel time to different depots, when officers feel obliged to make an extra effort to get to the new depot on time.

We would like to remind our members of the following:

• You are under NO obligation to answer a mobile phone when off duty. You are under NO obligation to read a WORK RELATED text message received outside of
  shift hours
• In fact, you are under no obligation to own a mobile phone.

The AEAWA believe it is important for the health and well being of our members to be able to peacefully enjoy time off…time for which they are NOT BEING PAID. The organisation has an obligation to adequately recruit, train and retain staff so that shifts are covered. It has a responsibility to have enough ambulances to run the service. It is self-evident that SJA like to rely on a proportion of Spare officers per roster to help fill cracks in the system, but you are under NO obligation to facilitate this mechanism (which is generally only beneficial to SJA) by acknowledging calls or texts while OFF shift.

For example, should an officer receive a text message in advance of their night shift, advising of a change of depot, they can rest assured that they will be completely secure in ONLY checking their phone AFTER arriving at the depot they were originally rostered to, and then using a WORK vehicle / ambulance to travel to the requested destination.

Most insurance companies do not cover the use of a private vehicle to travel BETWEEN work locations, they simply cover the commute TO and FROM work. When signing your registration declaration, it usually asks for private or work related use. Once on duty please ensure you use an AMBULANCE to move to your alternate depot, only AFTER your shift has commenced, and that you RETURN to your rostered depot in time for the end of your original shift.

You are entitled to request a return to your starting depot, in time for the end of your shift. If you choose to answer your phone prior to the start of your shift and are given an instruction to relocate, then you must comply, but you should claim ‘Time and Travel’ to the new depot.

Please note this advice is given without taking anything away from the hard work undertaken by our dedicated rosters colleagues. They do an absolutely AMAZING job given the current circumstances. We simply ask that our LEADERSHIP place less pressure on our rosters colleagues to interrupt downtime, so that adequate resourcing occurs, and our members can enjoy the full extent of their time OFF DUTY.

Tim Dunlop                               9221 4842
Kenny Nelson                            9221 4842
Karl Hunt                                   9221 4842

Nigel Schumann                        9373 3843

Lee Waller                                    0417 995 135

Aaron Pittaway                           9368 2510

Paul Davies (Taff)                      9353 1912

Andrew Kerfoot                          0415 409 627

John Thomas                              0411 129 797
Darryl Payne                                9302 5728
Jane Mathers                              9302 5728

Brett Moore                                 0417 910 348

Dave Higgins                              9364 9410
Troy Sayer                                   9364 9410

Rob Sauer                                    9364 9410

Rick Candy                                   0407 399 396

Mike Hardwick                           0417 983 140

Brendon Mosel                           9334 6052
Dave Fasolo                                9334 6052

Arjang Pirmorady                      9457 0010

Kirsty Roberts                             9529 2853

Rex Bullock                                 9523 4791
Darryn Kelly                                 9523 4791

Chris Austin                                9525 9990

Jesse George                               9381 5335
Ed Doran                                       9381 5335

Daniel Mariner                           9561 1648

Bronwyn Herne                          9470 3014

Travis Kendrick                          9334 1285
Andrew Lake                              9334 1285

Declan O’Neill                             9447 6029

Mike Ficko                                  9841 4212
Ed McLean                                  9841 4212

Mark Wilding                              9797 0728

Dave Bryant                                9791 4999
Chris Smith                                 9791 4999

Todd Jones                                  0439 982 205

Gary Davies                                 9192 0714

Andrew Eyre                               9791 4999

Justin Ingrey                               0438 646 351
Phil Stanatis                                0429 018 849
Matt Neville                                 0449 798 031

Damian Freeman                       9071 1618

Suleen Van Der Westhuizen    9729 3458

Shannan Bradley                      9185 1222

Shane Gray                                  9168 2844

Jon Flockton                               TBA
Wendy Blackman                        TBA

Amanda Howell                          0400 522 569

Dale Reid                                     9621 1613

Christine Hunter                        9531 3322

Meeting commenced
09:30-11:30 on August 3^rd, 2022

Committee Attendee’s
John Thomas and Lee Waller

Committee Apologies
Mike Hardwick, Dave Higgins and Conrad Fairhead.

SJA Attendees
Joe Cuthbertson, Rene Anderson, Karren Stewart, Joel Moore and Justin Fonte.

Opening Statement

Metro BCP Level
SJA commenced with stating that at the moment the organisation sits at BCP level 3 and all managerial roles such as Clinical/AMs/HLMs/ORMs have been working on road. Basically, if an individual in these roles hold an AHPRA paramedic registration, they have been utilised to work on road until the limited numbers of staffing levels is resolved.

Country BCP Level
Esperance and Newman are currently at BCP level 4; whilst Broome and the Wheatbelt remain at BCP level 3 along with the Southwest and Kalgoorlie (which is expected to drop to BCP level 2 shortly).

Call Volume Above Expectations
Currently the workload has increased by 7.5% which is above the estimates SJA had determined, this coupled with ramping well within excess of 5,000 hours is putting plenty of pressure on standby capacity which currently sits at 26%.

Low Urgency Transport Vehicle in Geraldton
This has been placed in the region to free up paramedic response to the community as paramedics were generally out doing low priority calls when emergency calls came in. The success of this ‘pilot’ will be tabled at future JCC meetings.

Regional Ramping
WACHS and SJA (Simon Hughes) have been working together to reduce ramping in country regions. These meeting have just commenced but information about these meetings will be sent out once available.

Difficulty in Filling Country Locations
Permanency/Postings/ or Country Relief vacancies have been difficult to fill recently. Members would have noticed that vacancies placed on the intranet are often re-advertised numerous times, and in some cases have gone to AP1’s and even AO’s in Bunbury.

Discussions with SJA will commence on the ability to attract officers to hard to fill locations. The AEAWA are advocates for role incentives in order to attract officers to these locations. SJA would like to meet later to discuss the possibility for these positions to be filled with officers on a ‘drive in drive out’ or ‘fly in fly out’ roster. To date there is no firm plan and ideas have been sent through to the Directors in order to commence further discussions.

Winter Planning
SJA have stated that this Winter could be difficult with an upwards ramping trend and potential COVID-19 spikes and also the normal winter respiratory issues. The focus is on having resources to meet the demand. SJA are currently reviewing a low acuity response model in order to free paramedics up for emergency calls. More information to come soon.

Ramping
Trends in ramping are increasing, however shift extensions across the fleet have in fact decreased. SJA stated the 224 shift extensions on the day shift were down from this time last year (305 hours to 240 hours); 224 shift extensions on the night shift were down from this time last year (115 hours to 100 hours), and the 4×4 day vehicles were about the same (190 hours per week).

Safety Update
Due to COVID-19 many of the planned security updates have either had delays or have ceased completely. Issues with computer chips for CCTV have been detrimentally impacted. Long delays are expected. Merriwa Depot is the next to be secured due to multiple security issues at the station.

The Recruitment Process
As most would be aware issues with the recruitment process seen the formation of a Recruitment Committee during the recent Paramedic/Ambulance Officers EBA negotiations. A draft document around the new processes would be circulated and feedback provided from the AEAWA. More information to follow soon.

Action Items

The CPAT Vehicle
Volks Wagon and the engineers are reviewing the vehicle specs and changes will be requited to be signed off by the Department of Transport. There have been lengthy delays. The Working Group has been in a hiatus for some time due to COVID delays. SJA are to re-open a new Working Group, and anyone on the previous group can reapply to the new one.

Stryker Stretcher Update
Currently there are 38 Ambulances with Stryker’s on board, every depot has at least one stretcher while a total of 9 depots have two. There has been some confusion around the retro fitting of the Stryker’s. Some have been told these are only placed into new builds, when some depots have had them fitted into existing vehicles and some brand-new vehicles which are supposed to be fitted with the Stryker’s have had Ferno’s placed in them.

Further updates on the rollouts will be made available to officers shortly, however delays have been occurring and Mercedes have stated they are having issues accessing new vehicles.

CEP
Due to high workloads and limited staffing (that right situation normal) discussions occurred in relation to the commencement of CEP. Basically, the organisation would like to delay the program until more staffing arrive. There would be an issue trying to facilitate CEP in the current environment. More information to follow soon.

Low Staffing Levels
A discussion took place around SJA depleting 224 resources. Basically, current practice seems to be move staff off the night shifts to work on these Demand Rosters (day times) and back fill the 224 nights with overtime; not as many are taking this up as expected. The AEAWA stated that all 224 positions should be filled then offer the overtime to fill the day shifts, there would be more takers!

Volunteer Fatigue Monitoring
Officers in the country have stated they often come to work and the volunteer they are working with have come of a volunteer night shift or have been working extensively before shift commencement. Its difficult for those officers to ascertain if their officer is fatigued. SJA also stated it is difficult to monitor and currently there is some work in the background regarding fatigue monitoring across the organisation.

The AEAWA would like to advise all members that if they feel unsafe due to your off-sider being fatigue they should raise this with management and then contact the AEAWA for further assistance.

Single Officer Response
On many occasions’ officers in the country, who can not get a volunteer partner have often attend the call by themselves with assistance from another agency, RFDS/WAPOL/Nurses etc. The AEAWA would like to advise members that these external employees more than likely NOT trained or authorised to use our equipment and any issue that eventuates from this type of response may create further complications. For further information please contact an AEAWA delegate.

Recurrent Closures of Mandurah Depot
On many occasions’ there are no crews or just one crew in the Mandurah area, a location of more than 100,000 people. This lack of resourcing places pressures on the surrounding fleet (Dawesville/Pinjarra/Secret Harbor etc). SJA were asked why this is constantly occurring and what is the plan to fix it.

Basically, it’s due to officers in that depot are in country positions or other secondments and have not been back filled. There are few officers that live in that area so it is often difficult to fill as employees would need to travel long distances to work there, and this basically goes against the fatigue monitoring. Further discussions will take place on how to get officers to work in that location will occur.

WAPOL Declining Jobs
Lately as WAPOL appear to be extremely busy too, crews have been advised by SOC managers that there will be no Police assistance due to no crews available. Sometimes crews are stating they are feeling pushed to respond to calls that are flagged with no assistance.

This is a Safety Issue and if crews feel unsafe, they are to only enter violent or flagged scenes once it had been deemed safe by WAPOL, there delay is not the AEAWA’s concern, your safety is. SJA are in agreeance and have also suggested contacting the DM or CSP and advising them that the Police need to attend.

SJA sent out an email in February to all Senior SOC managers advising them that crew safety is paramount and that crews should not be pushed to respond to these types of scenes.

Support Person Being Denied
Some members have advised the AEAWA that they have been initially denied a Support Person or been told they do not require one for this meeting. On some occasions they have been told that if they bring a Support Person to the meeting this will automatically escalate the issue. This is not the case, a Support Person or AEAWA Delegate are there to support you. This is to ensure that your rights are protected. Many of these simple ‘chats’ come back at a later date as a file note, and it is advisable that if you are being spoken to regarding an issue at work you are well within your rights to be supported.

SJA have stated they would always offer a Support Person whenever the employee requests one, and in most cases, it is offered before the meeting commences.

Paramedics Declined OT as RASOs are Working at the Location
This is becoming less of an occurrence, however there are still reports of paramedics calling in for OT and being denied, only to find out that a RASO was rostered in the position. SJA have stated that Paramedic/Ambulance Officer overtime is the first preference and any time this process is not being followed SJA would like to know times, dates, location and who denied the overtime.

Priority 3’s Do We or Don’t We!
An email was sent out stating that Paramedic crews are not doing P3 calls. This created some confusion across shifts with some following the email and other not following it. At the meeting that email was not known about, it was an email sent to SOC and that crews are to be dispatched when required for low priority calls. Obviously with the planned move of PTS being in the SOC this should eliminate many of these ‘take home’ P3s.

Students Failing Transition or Intermediate
A clear direction was requested from the College as there is a lot of confusion around relating to the failing of either the Transition or Intermediate courses. It appears that some students have been told different information, some believe they have a chance to resit the school, whilst others have been provided no such opportunity. We understand circumstances are different, but this seems widespread across multiple schools.

SJA do understand that it is dependent on what school was failed, student attitude and marks in other areas etc. But will chat to the college in order to eliminate future confusion and perhaps produce a document so that the student know from Day One would happen if they fail.

Increased Staffing Levels
SJA have stated there will be an extra 60 Direct Entrants in the next three upcoming Schools (August through to October) and 70 students in the new year. There is a preference to look for Direct Entrants, however with so many other Ambulance Services looking for the same individuals, this is harder to achieve.

Next Meeting
TBA

Meeting commenced
10:00-14:00 on May 4^th, 2022

Committee Attendee’s
John Thomas and Lee Waller

Committee Apologies
Mike Hardwick, Dave Higgins, Donelle Carver and Conrad Fairhead.

SJA Attendees
Joe Cuthbertson, Karren Stewart, Kathryn Smith, Joel Moore and Natalie Braxton.

Opening Statement
SJA commenced with stating that significant progress had been done regarding the Recruitment Committee (aka progression). And a brief overview of organisational statics was discussed. SJA provided the following.

• 510 hours of ramping last month (April 2022) up 100 hours from this time last year.
• Fit to sit patients have increased by 38%.
• Multi-patient take overs have increased by 30%.
• The ETOCH Pilot has had a significant impact in reducing shift extensions.
• This Pilot is to end soon, and a Report will be presented to ascertain if it should continue.
• 224 vehicles are doing approximately 185 hours p/w of shift extensions up 100 hours from this time last year.
• 4×4 vehicles are doing approximately 150 hours p/w of shift extensions up 30 hours from this time last year.

Paramedic Safety
SJA commenced by stating there have been 755 officers who have attended and completed the Violence and Aggression Training Programme during CEP. This is evident by the increases in reportable near misses and actual cases now being reported. This is due to SJA believing that staff are now far more likely to report these instances. SJA went onto reiterate to all staff the importance of reporting instances of violence towards staff.

Safer Depots
Property are reviewing certain locations to ascertain the levels of safety for personnel. Currently Merriwa depot (which have reported an increase in near misses over the past few years) is the current priority.

The AEAWA would like to state if you feel your working location is unsafe in anyway they should list the reasons why to [email protected] and your committee will ensure it is reviewed by the organisation.

The Corpuls
Under instruction of the Deputy President of Fair Work discussions were to take place over the data capture of audio recordings held by SJA. The AEAWA have long thought that this would be used as a disciplinary tool by the organisation and not a training one. Feedback in relation to the internal Corpuls document will be discussed at another meeting.

Medication Checks
A small group of officers were wanted to review the process around checks. There were no nominations so this item will be placed back into the Paramedic JCC.

Country Housing
Many officers have approached the AEAWA expressing disappointment over finding housing whilst on country postings. SJA have admitted they are finding suitable housing in the location either extremely expensive or non-existent. This is unlikely to change any time soon. SJA are committed to reviewing more options.

ANY member who finds themselves with this issue should contact the AEAWA so that we can assist you through this process.

Stryker Stretcher Rollout
Currently every depot in the metropolitan area has at least one Stryker, over the coming months this is expected to grow to two. There are also three more Stryker’s to be fitted this week. The rollout has been a bit slower in Country regions as RFDS and NETS have had teething issues with the joining of their equipment onto ours. NETS and RFDS are currently addressing this problem. Most of the staff have been trained in the Stryker, and from this point that training will fall back to the College.

More PTS vehicles to enter the fleet
SJA have increased the Transport fleet, meaning that there should be fewer instances of Ambulance Transport Officers requiring to work out of Ambulances. This will impact the number of vehicles available for ambulance crews utilise.

The AEAWA would like to hear from our Transport Members if there are any instances were crews cannot respond to calls due to the vehicle they would normally respond in has been allocated to a Transport crew. 

Portable Radios
There appears to be a move to hasten the implementation of the portable radios. SJA wanted a discussion with the AEAWA at today’s meeting to occur.

The AEAWA reiterated that due to almost 30% of our SOC colleagues on the radio receiving Acoustic Shock Incidents, we have no real appetite to discuss this topic until the entire radio network has been upgraded and has been declared safe for us to use. Our SOC members have been instructed by SJA that the system has NOT been fixed, therefore a directive has been given to not use headsets whilst on radio. We feel this is a safety issue that needs rectifying before discussions around the portable radios occur.

The Uniform Committee
This project has been implemented by the Procurement Team and a working group has been established. More information will be provided soon.

Representing the AEAWA will be Tania Hill and Jesse George. Their Proxies will be Lee Waller and Mike Hardwick. The AEAWA have chosen proxies as many meetings occur on shift and delegates (due to workload) are rarely released. Proxies ensure the meetings continue and the completion of the process doesn’t drag on.

New Demand Vehicles
The AEAWA questioned the number of demand vehicles is over the agreed total that was discussed at the Fair Work Commission. Questions were asked around who decides who gets a go on these vehicles? Does the list sit at rosters? Is there Manager Involvement? What is the process?

SJA stated that many variables are used, yes it does sit with rosters, it is a list that is ultimately used. The AEAWA stated there were 24 224 vehicles not filled, do we have a list for those? SJA did state that 224 vacancies will be filled first. We find it strange when 6 224 vehicles are closed but 10 Demand Trucks get filled. The AEAWA spoke about cases of individuals who have been on the Demand Vehicle roster list for 12-months and have never been placed on it. We would like more transparency around this.

Working with Children Checks
The feedback from the Department of Communities is that Paramedics, as they only enter and leave the hospitals in a relatively short time span (obviously no one has explained ramping to them) do not require these checks. SJA are aligning with those recommendations with the box we check under our AHPRA registration (reportable instances) as being sufficient evidence. The comment was made that SJA should strive to be over and above the legislation.

LMS Courses
Basically there is no time to complete these courses on shift, and no safe ergonomically assigned area to do them in. The AEAWA are not opposed to our members learning, and improving their knowledge base, we just acknowledge the obvious. If there is no time at work, it is done at work (and we are taken of the road to do it) or in our own time (if the officer agrees to it and overtime rates are paid). SJA appear to not want to entertain the OT idea.

Currently there has been the interest of SJA during the Recruitment Process meetings to have officers complete the LMS Training Packages in order to gain more points during the progression stages. We believe this is the start of doing these training packages in your own time with no payments for doing so.

COVID Absenteeism
Current data shows 148 COVID related personnel have been off in the previous 7 days which is why the rise in the BCP has occurred as this affects cycle times.

Next Meeting
TBA

Meeting Date
13:00-15:20 on December 21, 2021

Committee Attendee’s
John Thomas, Lee Waller and Dave Abbott

Committee Apologies
Donelle Carver and Dave Higgins

Incidents of violence and aggression
A committee is to be formed to combat incidents of violence and aggression directed towards ambulance personnel. This training will be provided by peers and external resources. The AEAWA responded in regard to the previous meetings as the OSH representative that he believed SJA and the parties had reached a position where external providers were sourced to provide de-escalation techniques. This was advised by SJA that this was not the case and that the intention was to ‘train’ peers to deliver the program. The AEAWA are supportive of de-escalation training however, the AEAWA will not accept our members who get assaulted being held accountable for the actions of a violent patient or bystander, nor will we support an initiative in which SJA can ‘hang out’ the crew for being assaulted.

We are the only state in Australia that hasn’t had training in de-escalation techniques. The AEAWA reminded SJA that we are the ONLY service in Australia that has NOT provided Professional Violence and Aggression training to employees.

SJA employing yet another manager
Appointment of the CP Manager. SJA have felt the need to employ another manager for this group. SJA were made aware that in accordance with the Report on Government Services SJA are the most heavily managed ambulance service, these Government statistics were from 2 years ago (with 65% of employed staff being on road or in SOC). That was before the new senior management appointments. SJA believe they require more managers to make the business run appropriately. The AEAWA strongly stated that more ‘on road’ and in ‘SOC’ resources are required.  In essence what will managers do for the community of Western Australia who are waiting 4 hours for an ambulance?

More Country Paramedics
WACHS wanting more paramedics in the country regions. At this stage discussions between SJA and WACHS are occurring on where these resources should go and how many are required. Difficulty is WACHS want to fund these positions for two years, were once resources are placed into an area both SJA and the AEAWA want them to remain there. At this stage it looks like a mixture of paramedics, community paramedics or even PTOs. The AEAWA will seek further discussions with WACHS regarding these resources.

More Managers
SJA wanted to outline their new management structure. This recruitment of greater numbers of managers is for SJA to identify ‘inefficiencies’. This was met with an unfavourable response, SJA appear to be able to put management positions together extremely quickly, but never seem to boost the employees in green.

Hospital Liaison Managers
Hospital Liaison Managers are being supported and SJA believe that these positions are making a difference. The AEAWA do not agree with this statement. Our members believe that ramping is getting worse, and that the role CAN NOT reduce these issues. It is a wider health systemic issue.

Taking patients for x-rays whilst ramped 
Whilst on the ramp ambulance crews are basically becoming hospital workers; taking patients for x-rays and other testing areas within the hospitals. The AEAWA believe that this is a hospitals job, taking patients through the hospital system IS NOT and ambulance role, there are no policies on what to do, it has not been ergonomically assessed and what happens if the patient deteriorates. If a patient goes into these procedures, WE ARE NOT IN WITH THEM! How do we do observations and how do we assess the patient, who is responsible when the patient deteriorates.

Single Officers tasked to be a ramping officer
SJA is tasking single employees to become solo ramping paramedics. The AEAWA is amazed SJA is allowing this to happen. Patients are not being admitted into the hospital as it is too busy and the AMA believe taking care of multiple patients during these times presents significant clinical risk, however SJA believe that risk can just simply be placed onto single officers.

The AEAWA will not and never will support a single officer being on the ramp as this goes against all current policies written by the organisation. The clinical risk is too high.

Stryker Stretcher Update
LMS training has been in place for the current Ferno F50 stretchers which most staff have completed. There is a purchase order for 83 Stryker stretchers which will be arriving in 3 months and more will follow, The rollout will be initially for ‘new builds’ only as workshops require time to refit the current
vehicles. The training will commence shortly.

Duty Manager CAD Updates
Duty Manager Sending Out Information on CAD Regarding No Back Ups. SJA to review.

Pre Shift Checks
The AEAWA have asked SJA for the ‘minimum requirement for shift start’ for years as our members have come to work 15mins early to check vehicles so they could be available for 07:00 jobs and at no cost. Management were advised that officer’s shifts commence at certain times 0700 & 1800 and then vehicle checks, drug reconciliation etc. take place. Also if crews are dispatched without opportunity to check vehicles who is responsible for failed defibrillation or missing equipment etc. As SJA appear extremely unsupportive to the membership, the committee and its members now feel that this good will has ended. SJA advised the minimum a crew should be doing is the drug check, and a defibrillation check on the Corpuls3 to ensure monitor is operational. It was estimated by SJA that this check should take 4-5minutes.  We have asked SJA to provide that detail in writing.

Xmas cancellation of shift party’s and hampers
This was the CEO’s decision and all Directors stood by it. AEAWA made it VERY clear that this was a very poor decision and has had a major negative impact on moral State wide amongst all operational Staff. This decision was made worse with the announcement of a Xmas function for “Friends of SJA” plus all Directors received Xmas hampers.

Next Meeting
TBA

Survey Status – Closed
Survey Data Collected – 30/12/2023- 13/01/2024
Number of Participants – 710
Survey Results – Click here for the demographics and here for the results.

Survey Status – Closed
Survey Data Collected – 11/11/2021 – 29/11/2021
Number of Participants – 486
Survey Results – Click here.

Survey Status – Closed
Data Collected – 01/08/2021 – 16/09/2021
Number of Participants – 411
Survey Results – Click here.

Survey Status – Closed
Survey Data Collected – 01/08/2021 – 16/09/2021
Number of Participants – 373
Survey Results – Click here.

Survey Status – Closed
Survey Data Collected – 11/04/2020 – 13/11/2020
Number of Participants – 75
Survey Results – Click here.