2022 AEAWA Minutes

Meeting Chaired By
John Thomas.

Meeting Commenced
09:30-11:00 on November 2, 2022.

Committee Attendee’s
John Thomas, Mike Hardwick, Lee Waller, Rick Candy, Phil Stanaitis, Justin Ingrey, Todd Jones, Kirsty Roberts and Chris Smith.

Committee Apologies
Conrad Fairhead, Kami Evans, Paul Davies, Troy Bates and Jesse George.

Minutes of the Previous Meeting Presented and Accepted
Moved Lee Waller, Seconded Michael Hardwick.

Meeting Agenda
This is the monthly scheduled AEAWA meeting for all the Association Committees (Executive, Paramedic, Communications, Medic, and Transport). Association correspondence and issues from the membership will be discussed here.

Correspondence In

MHTO vehicle doing P0, P1 and P2 community calls
In the southwest there has been an increased usage of this vehicle attending calls outside of mental health within the community. There was an assurance given initially that these officers would not be used for these types of responses, however now SJA are allowing this practice to happen.

SJA have stated they do not want to have a vehicle at the depot when a high priority community response is waiting. MHTO crews have applied for a position to do mental health transfer work, they have not done emergency response training.

The AEAWA believe they should be only sent to P0’s in the community as a last resource. The Executive are in talks with senior SJA management about this issue. Discussions took place on ways in which to rectify tis situation, The consensus was to hold SJA to the contract of only responding to community cardiac arrests in the community.

Unreasonable Overtime
There have been some issues with crews not being provided take over crews either on scene or whilst at hospitals. Members would like to know, as the realise it is now in our new certified agreement, what can they do when it has been requested by a SOC manager and has been denied?

The AEAWA have written to SJA to resolve this issue and to reduce this. The AEAWA would like members to fill out an Incident Report and email the committee ([email protected]) so we can monitor this. SJA have a responsibility to get you off on time.

Paid Travel
Members approached the AEAWA that travel has not been paid, they were rostered on a 224 vehicle and on the list for a day van and were not paid the travel. They believe SJA should provide the travel as they are not working the 224. The AEAWA believe unless it is classed as your home depot and you are not on the list for the 224 and you work on a day van, you should receive the payment.

Spoilt Meal Breaks
There is some confusion and disparity amongst the allocation of meal breaks. Some managers constantly break them and hence the crew receive the allowance whilst other never break them. Issues also relate to crews on the dot being given the meal break and the crews just coming in are now given the next job.

The AEAWA are in discussions with SJA about this disparity. There needs to be consistency across the shifts and the managers. Discussions have taken place to place the meal break allotted times onto the crews AmbiCad rather than selcalling the depot. The issue with the dot is a lot harder to fix, but the committee are providing solutions to SJA. There could be a possibility for crews when they get back to the depot to contact SOC to ask to be put on a meal break. Most feedback aligns with the AmbiCad message. It was acknowledged it has improved, however there are still some issues.

Paramedic Progression
There is some confusion on the transition to various ambulance classifications for those coming from other services. The definition of ‘jurisdictional ambulance service’ with SJA is being used in various different ways and members would like to know why some make it through to a paramedic level and some are made AOs.

The AEAWA were told during negotiations that this would be reviewed by a case-by-case basis. Some officers work for a private organisation, however they actually respond to emergency calls in the community. The intent of the clause was to stop individuals who have worked for an ambulance service that DOES NOT provide a community emergency response, and not for officers that align with an emergency service and responds. The AEAWA will write to SJA, as during negotiations a blanket ‘no’ was never considered or discussed.

EBU Security Issues and Outcome
There has been a lot of discussion over this, and members would like to know were we are at with this process. They were advised by senior management that the security cameras would be a deterrent. A recent issue occurred, and officers were advised that the cameras were not recording so security footage could not be accessed.

The AEAWA wrote to the Ambulance Service Director and have still not received a response. SJA will be contacted to see what the response is today. Further information will be provided.

AEAWA Business

AEAWA family Xmas day
Some assistance is required to facilitate the day. Many of the committee executive are currently working on numerous representations and the general running of the Association. If anyone can assist this would be great. Kirsty Roberts and Mike Hardwick were nominated to organising this,

Organising children’s activities, food and coffee vans etc are to be discussed.

New members
The AEAWA have had 30 members join last month.

AEAWA Associate Members
This type of membership allows those with a casual paramedic contract to be covered, i.e Professional Indemnity Insurance, Journey Cover, Bereavement Cover. This will be circulated to the general membership soon.

AEAWA Industrial Members
There are numerous officers who have been AEAWA members leaving the service to go to industrial and still require membership coverage. The committee is happy for this to continue and welcome industrial members to the AEAWA membership.

AEAWA Recruitment Drive
The AEAWA would like delegates to approach those who are not with either of the groups. There are still a proportion of members who can be approached to become a member, and we should start having these discussions with our colleagues.

Paramedic JCC
The Paramedic Joint Consultative Meeting has been set for Tuesday 6^th December – 12:30-14:30. Delegates from the new AEAWA Paramedic Committee if available will be required to attend the upcoming Joint Consultative Committee meeting, along with the executive.

Correspondence Out
There was no correspondence out to discuss.

General Business

Country Officers Doing Country Relief
Members would like to know why they are not contacted to do country relief. Some officers appear to do plenty whilst others are denied. The AEAWA have had this discussion

Medics in the Country
Members have contacted the AEAWA about this potential implementation. The AEAWA are yet to hear anything official from SJA.

There being no further business the meeting was closed at 11:15

Next Committee Meeting Thursday 24th December 2022 at 09:30 via Microsoft Teams

Chaired By
Wil White

Meeting commenced
13:00-15:00 on October 25^th, 2022

Committee Attendee’s
John Thomas, Lee Waller and Callan McClure

Committee Apologies
Kam Phagura, Liz Jaggard and Troy Bates

SJA Attendees
Wil White, Stephanie Freemantle, Bree Jones and Kerryn Welke

SJA Updates
SJA opened the meeting by stating they are very happy with the performance of staff in the room and understand the pressures employees are under.

Staff Planning
Increasing staff numbers within the room is a priority of SJA to alleviate employee stress. They have been made aware of further pressures as numerous staff have trained up to be in various leadership roles which at times has left a void within the room.

The AEAWA are supportive of employee progression but would like to see staffing levels increased to fill the positions that employees are leaving. Members are often left with increased workloads when this occurs.

SJA state the establishment numbers is 156. Basically 118 Communications Officers, Dispatchers and Operational Support Officers. The rest is made up of ANCs, RTMs DMs etc.

Clinical Hub
Increasing staffing has occurred within this area of the organisation. Clinical Nurse Specialists, Registered Nurses, General Practitioners and Paramedics make up the team to reduce hospital attendances. This will become a 24/7 position soon, and further information on this progression will occur in the near future.

Headsets
Acoustic Protection devices were trialed with sound shields. Plantronics headsets were the better products found by staff, however SJA are still not convinced that this is a safe option.

As with the previous acoustic shock injuries the actual issue with the radio network was not found or rectified. So, until the issue(s) is/are found and fixed the AEAWA are not supportive of headsets within the room. Staff safety is paramount over headphones.

CAD Terminal Updates
The scheduled update of moving the CAD onto a domain was met with issues. The update was not implemented due to an issue with the patch. SJA wanted to pass on their appreciation to those who were on shift at the time, and for those who came into help.

Meal Break Management
Officers in SOC are aware of the issues this is causing both in the room and on the road. Managers know that staff do not want to wake crews up to go onto a meal break, but currently there is no other option. There needs to be a better system to reduce this frustration. This will be answered under the AEAWA agenda items.

Abusive Caller Policy
The SDOs are currently gathering data on these specific callers, and the MyOsh issues with SOC staff being unable to lodge certain issues have now been fixed. Flow charts will be placed on MyOsh so it’s more user friendly to use for SOC officers.

Low Morale in the Room
As the organisational cultural survey was highly critical towards an ‘us’ and ‘them’ culture, SJA are looking to implement working groups to work together on solutions to limit this gap. Over the coming weeks shift meetings will occur (in person or online) with senior SJA managers so that employees can identify any issues. The AEAWA stated the biggest issue is limited numbers in the room. This creates fatigue, poor audit outcomes, burnout, limited enthusiasm for overtime etc.

SJA would like officers to attend these meeting and raise their concerns.

Employee Overtime
SJA acknowledge the pressures both staff within the room and at the rosters department are under. Overtime texts are ad hoc, with some officers never receiving them. To alleviate this pressure SJA are looking to pilot an App based system where people can see what OT is available and for what position. The OT will be given to the person with the least amount of OT recorded against them on the system. The App will also consider the shifts (what day the OT is available and where you are on your 4 days off). The system will also be able to work out if you are on Annual Leave etc.

As this is a new pilot, only certain managers and rosters employees will control it. The AEAWA asked if the DMs could be involved in the pilot, as rosters close early in the night and the managers running the system may also not be there. At least the DMs are there 24/7, it would be more beneficial for them to contact staff for OT.

Inconsistent Emails Causing Confusion
At one stage staff were receiving multiple emails from multiple sources with slight differences that created confusion. The AEAWA stated that although this has reduced significantly it is still happening. Maybe one source of information would reduce these issues. SJA have agreed to this and will monitor those emails.

AEAWA Raised Items

Progression
Members have been asking for a progression policy. Currently there is no documentation either in the SOC or the college that defines the progression in the room. For example.

1. How long (in shifts/hours/timeline) is it for an OSO to apply to do the call-taker course?
2. How long as a call-taker do you have to be able to apply for a Radio Dispatcher position?
3. How long or how many hours do you need as a Radio Dispatcher to be a mentor?
4. How long or how many shifts as a Country Dispatcher do you need to do to a apply to be a Metro Dispatcher

The Paramedic/Ambulance Officers Certified Agreement has the time frame to move into various positions, but we don’t. This is making it confusing on who can and who cannot apply for roles within the room.

SJA are very supportive of this and will place a SOC progression map onto Connect once completed.

Audits
The AEAWA have raised numerous times that peer reviewed audits are more palpable to employees. To assess a call and provided the feedback the person should be qualified in the role and the processes. SJA are currently looking to implement this.

They have also looked at officers who have left the SOC role (still in the service and qualified) to assist with the audits.

Overtime Process
What is the current process for overtime? There have been numerous occasions when we all know we are going to be short on a shift, but no overtime texts have gone out. Does the DM have the ability to authorise someone in the room to contact people after rosters have knocked off for the day?

SJA – The DMs can authorise OT, and the new pilot will investigate these problems and hopefully rectify it.

Staffing Levels
Again, we appear to be back to below minimum numbers. This is placing pressures on the officers within the room. When is the next SOC intake, and how many are OSOs and Communications Officers are in those schools?

SJA stated there is currently a Communications Officer school in progress with 8 officers, an OSO conversion school with 4 officers, a school for 10 Communications Officers in January as well as another OSO conversion course with 4 officers. Work with the college has occurred so that these courses can be more streamlined.

Recruitment Process
Last JCC it was discussed that there was approximately 50% of call-takers/OSOs that were employed have already left. A discussion took place on potentially having officers within the SOC appointed to assist in the process of selecting people for the role. Has there been any traction on this?

SJA stated that this has been occurring, Communications Officers had been involved in the recent recruitment processes.

Allocating Meal Breaks for Crews
There has been a lot of kick back from crews on road on the process of allocating meal breaks, particularly on nights. On occasion we are waking crews up to take a meal break. Is there any way we can streamline this process?

The AEAWA believe that a message on the AmbiCad on night shifts should solve the issue. A crew will know if they have had a spoilt meal break, when they see the AmbiCad. We are happy for further discussions to occur.

IAED Recertification and Training Modules
Doing this on shift is often difficult trying to read and work under exam conditions with noise in the room. Is there the ability to have a separate location away from the room for staff to complete this training? This has been brought up before as its often distracting. The modules with audio components are the hardest to complete within the room.

SJA stated the training PC is in the wrong place and understand the difficulty in using this during busy times within the room. There will be a CAD PC placed in the training room for staff to use. Also, Wil stated his office has a training CAD so outside of business hours both his and Austin’s PCs can be used in the short term, until a better location can be arranged.

Seniority within the Room
Besides pay, there is little difference between a CO1-CO4. Members would like to see this seniority rewarded. For example, those who are CO2 and above can apply for Radio Dispatcher positions etc. This means staff have the time to develop as a Communications Officer before they apply for a Radio Dispatcher position. Other Certified Agreements within SJA have something similar but Comms do not.

Members are happy for further discussions around this to take place, and suggestions to be tabled. SJA are in agreeance with this and want to develop a working group and have further discussions around this.

Correct utilisation of the Pools within SOC
At the previous SOC JCC the AEAWA discussed the correct process for filling roles within the room, and the fact that the correct process at times was not being followed. The example provided was the RTM acting in the DM position. Some officers had minimum to no training to take on the role. Another example was an RTM position being filled by dispatchers who are not even in the RTM pool.

SJA stated at the last JCC that they will review these processes and enter further discussions. The AEAWA would like to know where we are in this process.

SJA would like further details around this, they understand on a short-term filling of a position this may occur. They stated that if at any time this process is not followed correctly to provide the details and it will be reviewed.

Onboarding v Retention Numbers.
During the meeting the AEAWA asked SJA to provide the onboarding and retention numbers from the previous schools, matching these against the numbers within the room. SJA will provide this information to the AEAWA as soon as possible.

Next meeting
TBA

Meeting commenced
13:00-15:30 on August 9^th, 2022

Committee Attendee’s
John Thomas, Lee Waller and Jon Nobel

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

SJA Attendees
Tony Fitzgerald, Natalie Braxton, Alan Clyne, Simon Hughes, Serena, Ken Tan.

Opening Statement

Returning to Pre COVID-Staffing and Call Levels
SJA informed us that the workload and staffing levels are returning to pre COVID levels, however there is still a need to increase these levels. No information on how many or recruitment plans, and timings were provided.

New Transport Vehicles
There are four new vehicles for officers to work in across the fleet which will reduce the need for Transport crews using Ambulances. However, members have stated that these are currently being used by the Medic crews. These vehicles have also been fitted out with the new Stryker Stretchers and Transport Officers are not given the opportunity to work in them. SJA will review this.

There has been a recognised need to replace some of the older Transport vehicles and currently Fleet are reviewing this too.

Department of Health Transport Contract
There are five listed organisations contained within the contract, those being Medic One, Medical Edge, National Patient Transport, Wilson and SJA. Senior Management have been in contact with these organisations on a regular basis. Their appears to be plenty of movement for contracts.

Recruiting More Staff
There have been some issues with application numbers to increase the Transport ranks. SJA have identified the difficulty in attracting new people to the organisation with other agencies recruiting to fill their contracts. Much interest for hiring Transport Officers is contained on seek.com.

Agenda Items

RASOs Working With Transport Officers
An email from Senior Management was sent to all Transport Officers advising them of RASOs joining the fleet. Many members contacted their Transport Delegates raising their concerns over this new development. The AEAWA find it hard to understand with SJAs opening statement about returning to pre COVID staffing and workloads, now all of a sudden, we are placing RASOs into Transport Vehicles.

Concerns were raised on the level of training these officers would undertake pre turning up for shifts, it was noted many of the EHS RASOs working with Paramedics were not even trained in using the stretchers properly, many of them had not even seen the back of an Ambulance which resulted in numerous lost time working injuries amongst Paramedics. SJA are to review this.

APTC Times and Availability
This has been appreciated by many of our Transport members. The decisions made regarding hospital-to-hospital transfer priorities are now more appropriate, however APTC do not currently work 24/7, and crews have found hospitals are returning to normal practices when APTC staff are not working. SJA have stated there is a strong desire to have this operating 24/7.

The delay has been in recruiting two more Paramedics into APTC, there aren’t enough to take two off the road to fill the positions. When this changes there will be a push to constantly staff this around the clock.

Pre-Shift Checks
There was some initial confusion regarding this point as SJA came back with what needed to be checked before you commence your shift. The AEAWA reiterated that this was about crews not being given adequate time to check their vehicles. In the past it was 20 minutes, but now the workload has increased, they often find themselves being contacted 2 minutes into their shift to get rolling.

The AEAWA suggest (as we did in the Paramedic pre-shift checks) to advise what the organisation wants us to check, then allot a time to those checks, and crews will move once the checks have been completed.

Reasonable Overtime
This was raised as members particularly in the country regions were given jobs (in some cases 7-hour turn arounds) two hours before their shift finished. When officers said no to the unreasonable request, they often felt pushed into doing the call. They advice was to contact PTS communications and advise them that you cannot do these shift extensions, if you have no luck then contact the a Transport Manager.

Members are advised to contact the AEAWA on [email protected] if your request to finish on time is denied. The AEAWA stated that their needs to be a focus to get crews home on time, and low staffing levels is not the fault of the officer. We realise some officers welcome the overtime; however, the organisation needs to understand the work life/family life balance and assist.

Reporting Vehicle Faults and Damage
SJA would like to see more officers filling out crash packs and notifying of any vehicle faults so that these issues can be rectified quickly. SJA stated that this is a NO FAULT process, and that they realise many of the officers completing the forms may not have even been involved in the incident (they may have just found a problem).

Handle of Wheelchair Vehicle Issues
A fault with the grab handle on the wheelchair vehicles have been identified and raised at the previous Transport JCC. SJA noted a supply issue in fixing this problem and when this is sorted the vehicles may be off the road for some time whilst these are being installed. Further updates to come.

Completing an ePCR
Members have noted some frustration over completing a full ePCR with two full sets of vitals when a patient is simply going home, some patients have gotten a Taxi to hospital and are suddenly required to have a range of vitals completed. SJA believe that a Working Group with Clinical Governance should be established to see if this can be changed. The AEAWA are supportive of making these changes and will advise the membership of what the next steps are.

Transport Vehicle Mobile Phones
Many vehicles do not have two mobile phones in use. This is a safety and contactability issue. SJA are in the process of placing more phones into vehicles with only one phone; except for one operator vehicles.

Baby Blankets
There appears to be some back and forth on this issue, on one hand Clinical Governance say that this piece of equipment is safe and approved for use for all Transport Officers, and on the other the company who makes them state it should ONLY BE USED IN EMERGENCIES!

The AEAWA has advised members not to use this piece of equipment in the non-emergency setting until the onus falls on the organisation and not the officer if something goes wrong. Your committee believes that if a vehicle collision occurs and a newborn is placed on a piece of equipment not authorised by the manufacturer for non-emergency use then questions will be asked on why this accident occurred. Our concern is that the officer may be placed in fault.

Next Meeting
TBA

Meeting commenced
09:30-11:30 on August 3^rd, 2023

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
13:00-15:30 on July 28^rd, 2022

Committee Attendee’s
Lee Waller, Troy Bates. Justin Brenna, Liz Jaggard and Kami Evans.

Committee Apologies
Kam Phagura

SJA Attendees
Wil White, Rene Anderson and Stephanie Freemantle

SJA Updates
SJA opened the meeting by stating they are very happy with the performance of staff in the room and understand the pressures employees are under.

New Staffing Levels
Unfortunately, approximately 50% of the new call-takers have either left or have not passed the assessments so there are fewer numbers than expected to assist with the workload. SJA believe that the recruitment process needs to be altered in order to recruit the right people to the position and have engaged people in the room to assist in the recruitment process. They know the job better, so their input should help in getting the right people.

Operational Support Officers
The role is now permanent and is a great outcome for everyone as it will be seen as a good transition for all. Officers could effectively transition from a communications officer to an OSO and vice versa, some of the OSOs have already stated they would be happy move into a communications officer position. That training will commence at a later date. In future recruitment processes if more communications officers are required then the OSOs will be given the opportunity to apply for the position.

SJA would like to see the OSOs placed into the next Communications Officers Certified Agreement, during the negotiations.

The Low Acuity Response (LAR)
The LAR low acuity response model winter strategy is trying to ensure we send the right resources to the low acuity patients (ie transport or medics). PTS dispatch will be in SOC until the end of the winter. We will have more people in the room when this occurs. Training areas or the old clinical cell can be utilised if there are too many in the room. This is expected to be a small period of time.

The Clinical Hub
Members would like to know what is happening with the Clinical Hub and how this will affect numbers within the room, i.e., will officers need to move out of a location so that others can be placed in these areas? How many people does SJA need to fulfill the clinical role within the room? SJA have employed x2 Clinical Nurse Specialists and two Registered Nurses to join the clinical Hub, so that patients can be diverted away from calling ambulances. Clinicians will review the cohort of low priority patients. The secondary triage tool is also being reviewed. Numbers will be reviewed at future managerial meetings.

The Perspex screens in the room
These have all been removed as many officers complained of the excessive noise and the reflective glare of the screens.

Uniform committee
An EOI for SOC employees to join the uniform committee will be sent out to all officers soon. Uniforms will be aligned to the greater organisational uniform. A survey will go out to all SOC staff regarding uniforms to gain an understanding of what employees want. The survey questions have not been written yet, so it may take some time before this process is up and running.

SOC Innovation Group
The AEAWA wanted to understand why members were not being released for any meetings. Some officers were able to attend on shift, others were told it was too busy for them to attend (even though the workload is always going to be extreme in the room).

SJA have stated that they do want officers to attend these meetings. If an officer is scheduled for a workplace meeting and they are advised, they cannot attend should contact Wil White or the AEAWA to organise being released.

Crew Breaks
Our Radio Dispatchers would like a better understanding of how crew breaks work, especially now they will start happening with paramedic crews. There is no information on how, when, what circumstances can these breaks be given to crews. Some breaks are occurring 60-minutes before shift ends.

SJA stated that with the PTS leader in the room, this process will be easier to follow, as breaks will be organised and assigned from them. The AEAWA highlighted that there is no policy for our members to follow. The CAD updates for meal breaks has occurred and feedback will happen soon.

Breakout Rooms
The breakout rooms have been raised numerous times, and as there has been an increase in people within the room, this issue is at the forefront again. Even though there appears to be office space to utilise as a breakout room, they are planned to be used very soon.

There is an acknowledgement from SJA that we have outgrown the space, any increases in the next year will place us at capacity. They are aware and are reviewing this, a refurbishment of another building may be needed in the near future. The DMs have been instructed not to use the breakout rooms and the feedback from across all shifts is that this process is being followed.

Shift Start Times
SJA have been approached again with officers commencing shift at 07:00 and leaving at 06:30 and not completing their 12 hours, this is placing extra pressures on staff in the room and is unfair. SJA state the option is to develop CAD to monitor booking on and booking off times. The concept of a live ‘war board’ in the SOC has been reviewed, this will also have times associated to CAD logins available.

Some believe this is too ‘big brother’ and would prefer the DMs to discuss this matter with the officers who are doing this practice. SJA stated that the DMs will be given the empowerment to discus this issue with employees that are leaving early.

Demand Rostering
These rosters are being reviewed at the moment so that more staff can be there in periods of higher workloads. To this point there is no information to discuss, but further updates will be provided shortly.

Abusive Callers
SOC personnel can now access MyOsh and use the Communications Officers appropriate tool to fill out. There is now a drop-down menu installed on the system. Officers are urged (if they are abused) to report it.

The AEAWA stated the members in the room want a simple flowchart that is easy to reference, so they can transfer these calls to the DM or disconnect ASAP. SJA will get back to us shortly. SJA did state that “If abusive callers aren’t able to comply then SJA want you off the phone”.

Parliamentary Inquiry
SJA have tabled a response for the Department of Health to review. This is to understand what standing committees’ recommendations will be delivered……….The AEAWA responded hopefully all of them!

SOC Country Managers
Managers working in country recently have been dealing certain calls such as fires, all of a sudden more managers show up. They talk and discuss points and become quite loud and disruptive. Call-takers are struggling to hear calls.

The AEAWA suggest that if this occurs again the DM should be made aware, as the DM has the authority to regain some control back in the room.

ANCs taking Triple-0 overflow
Many ANCs are asking when they are going to be removed from taking overflow triple-0 calls. The organisation gave a commitment in May 2021 that when the OSO roles were implemented ANCs would not be taking these calls. Country and metro RTMs who are PROQA trained are not expected to fulfil this role, why are ANCs required to?

Over a year later, with the OSO program well established these members are still doing this. Members would like to know the organisations commitment to the cessation of this practice. SJA stated they are required to log in to take calls until the numbers within the room are sorted. The ANC is looked upon as a surge call-taking position by SJA.

Correct utilisation of the Pools within SOC
The AEAWA have been approached by members stating that the correct process for filling roles within the room are not being followed. In recent times roles such as the RTM have acted in DM positions with minimum to no training for the officer taking up the position. RTM positions have been filled by dispatchers who are not even in the RTM pool.

There are also cases of country RTMs filling metro RTM positions, some of these officers are not even in the metro RTM pool. Members would like to know the procedure for filling these positions as roles such as the DM have been offered to employees who have had no training for that position.

What happens is people get the tap on the shoulder to do a position then they have an advantage when the job application comes out. SJA will review to these processes and enter into further discussion.

Caller of the Month
Yes, this is great but there is no reward for staff who constantly do the right thing, we acknowledge a good call, but not attitude, behaviours, punctuality etc. Members are saying they want the positivity recognised. Complaints and poor audits are provided regularly, but nothing good ever seems to come out. There is little praise and little thanks in the room. More acknowledgement is needed. Members are saying that the DMs are too busy to reward good attributes.

It was also mentioned that there is a massive disconnect between SJA and the Academy. Regarding the CPR pin and the Stalk club the Academy accept ‘compliant’ calls to be eligible, but SJA will only send in ‘high compliant’ calls. This means fewer staff are recognised for their efforts, purely because SJA believe the standards should be above what the Academy want.

The AEAWA believes this needs to be changed, if ‘high compliance’ is the expectation for everything then let’s start with that expectation with employee numbers and filling the rosters.

Dispatcher and call-taker of the year
The IAED run an annual recognition of the “dispatcher of the year”. St John run this by asking for nominations for “call-taker of the month”, which is then voted for by a committee from across the organisation. They then select and send a nomination to the IAED for consideration at the Navigator conference for Australasia. The organisation appears to have left these recognition’s in limbo due to the pandemic, but there is more and more pressure placed on those doing the work in the room.

Other agencies seem to nominate multiple nominees, with even the Wellington Free Ambulance nominating more than one, and yet the largest (by land mass) ambulance service in the world only recognises and sends one nomination. There appears to be no nomination from SJA for 2021. So not one call taker was deemed to have done an outstanding job within the room.

This is why there appears to be a massive ‘us’ and ‘them’ culture, as no recognition for the role is ever given. Are SJA going to amend this and start recognising the great effort in the room and create a better culture of recognition for the officers?

SJA will take this onboard and get back to us to do more nominations from now on.

Lack of Policies
The AEAWA have been made aware of certain emails that are sent to SOC staff outlining rapid changes to normal procedures with no consultation or policy for staff to refer too. An example being recently an email was sent stating that paramedics, due to workload are not to do P3 calls. This is leaving dispatchers confused on what to do with these calls as the email is often misinterpreted by various employees and managers.

The organisation’s delivery methods need refining. It appears unless you are fully aware of Yammer, Face Book, emails and the Connect system you will miss vital information before you start your shift. This is inappropriate.

SJA have to make the decision – does an email from a manager/director conveniently send out at 16:00 on a Friday afternoon override all current policies and procedures? The AEAWA believe to limit confusion SJA have to review this method of staff communication as a priority.

Broken Breaks
Many members have approached the AEAWA stating that their breaks are being broken by managers in the room telling them their break is finished and they need to answer calls. Some members have even been spoken to about leaving the building on a break. This is unacceptable. This is your break; it has been negotiated and signed by the Fair Work Commission. The workload is due to a gross organisational lack of staffing NOT due to you getting a coffee. It’s your break…. Take it. Any issues please contact the AEAWA ASAP.

SJA agreed and DMs have been directed that employees are to take their designated breaks.

Staffing levels within the SOC and Wanagra HUB
Members would like to see a staffing plan and an understanding of how these new people will be placed into the room to ensure there are enough trainers /mentors to facilitate. Is the organisation able to advise the current staffing plan, and how these new staffing levels will coincide with increased call volumes?

SJA have stated there needs to be 6 dispatchers and 10 call-takers per shift and there is no preference to work at either the SOC or Wangara. There is an organisational expectation that both the SOC and Wangara Hub will not be closed unless there is a critical failure of service, or it is being deep cleaned.

RTM located in the same location as Radio Dispatchers
Many Radio Dispatchers are telling us how difficult it is having RTMs located at the Wangara Hub. Often there are delays with dispatching as the RTM in a different location contacts the Dispatcher long after the crew has been dispatched asking for a different crew to do the call. This leads to frustration in the room and often crews are being placed on calls then re-dispatched to other locations.

This will be reviewed by SJA and will be discussed at the next JCC.

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 commenced
10:00-14:00 on May 3^rd, 2022

Committee Attendee’s
Lee Waller

Committee Apologies
Jon Noble

SJA Attendees
Natalie Braxton, Alan Cline, Tony Fitzgerald and John Backo

Opening Statement
A request for input across the agenda items was requested, to gauge the on-road feeling of staff. SJA stated some things have been lost during communication. Further JCC’s it’s been requested that each group place on 6-8 agenda items each so that we can move through the items more quickly. Some items have not been resolved and other items have been on hold for a long time. A commitment to establish a priority agenda list was agreed to. However, all items should be reviewed at some stage to allay any concerns across the fleet.

SJA have been successful in all areas of the contracts, however for some they are not the exclusive tenders, as many other parties have been included. Online bookings will predominantly stay. Calls in may be changed if we cannot attend these calls, there may be an opportunity to change the pickup times or decline the call if resources are limited. SDS, Wilsons and NPT are also involved, and they will most likely attend if we don’t.

Competition is now in the marketplace more than ever before. SJA have lost some work in the past 18-months as ambulance are not doing that work due to emergency workload. RFDS work is also being discussed regarding the contract, between SJA, Health and RFDS. No wheelchair transport in the new contract under the Department of Health will occur (approx. 80% of the wheelchair vehicle workload), these patients will be placed in PTV’s. If it’s a hospital pick up or the patient is being transported from hospital to a facility, the new contract will not allow these patients to be transported in the usual SJA wheelchair vehicle.

SJA want to scale up their Transport numbers to fulfil these contracts. A review of casuals (required hours) is being reviewed along with the cycle times, to see how they can improve. Questions such as are we driving too long to scenes, are we being overly ramped, or are there other hospital delays occurring effecting our times will be reviewed. Basically, are these issues related to the hospitals, our dispatching or a mixture of both.

Four new vehicles are close to being made available over the next few weeks. They are an addition to the fleet, not replacements. The current BCP level is being reviewed for Ambulance Transport Officers, SJA have stated that the absentee rate for PTS is a lot lower than expected, hence why the review is to occur.

The Community Transport Officer role has been impacted; a greatly reduced scope of transport is being discussed. Further information will be made available at a later date. However, much of the calls they were doing have been altered.

Country Transport Officers can request roster changes. In the past this been excluded for our country members. SJA have stated they will review these requests when they are made aware. For future JCCs there may be an opportunity for PTS comms to be involved in the meetings. This way a dispatch perspective can paly a part in the discussions.

New Baby Blankets
These will be placed into the new vehicles; they are DHS blankets. When the older ones come in, when the vehicles are being serviced, they will also be replaced. If crews need to request the baby capsule so the patient can be transported safely, rather than using the blanket they should do so.

The AEAWA would like to remind the members that only approved (by the manufacturer) options should be used. The current Baby Blanket can only be used in ‘emergency situations. Crews should arrange a capsule and not feel pressured to transport the patient.

Fatigue Management
RASOs coming in to work at SJA after they have completed their full-time work. Some officers have worked 17 days straight. SJA have stated they should have a 9-hour break before they commence their SJA shift. This is for employee safety.

If any member believes they may be at risk should contact the Transport Team Leader ASAP to discuss, if they are not happy with the answer, they should contact an AEAWA Delegate immediately.

SJA Contacting Casual Officers
SJA have been contacting casuals that have not worked for extensive periods of time to ascertain if they are still happy to work for the organisation. Some officers have left, and others are only working four shifts a year. These officers have been encouraged to work more hours, to stay current in-patient contact. There are too many casuals on the books that have not completed shifts in a significantly long time.

If you are a casual Ambulance Transport Officer and have been contacted regarding your reduced work capacity, please contact the AEAWA ([email protected]) for any required support.

Shift Start Times
Employees are not given appropriate times to check their vehicles. SJA have stated that if you commence your shift at 07:00, that is when you start. A time-in-motion check will be investigated by SJA to see how long a vehicle check should occur (obviously vehicles will be in different states but at least a time frame for specific checks should occur). This is similar to a claim within the Paramedic/Ambulance Officer EBA negotiations.

During a recent discussion with the AEAWA and the Fair Wok Commissioner SJA DO NOT want to pay overtime for crews to attend work early to check their vehicle. This creates issues when you start your shift on time and are requested to roll out at your start time. A study will occur soon to see exactly how long it should take to check your vehicle. This time will be allotted at the commencement of your shift. Further information will be provided.

Section 4 – Not for Resus
St John of God Hospitals will no longer be filling out these forms. So crews will no longer have the form issue within this health setting. This item has now been resolved due to this and has been removed from the list of items. If any further instances arise, the AEAWA will return this topic to the agenda.

Team Leaders at on-road Stations
Management have had a lot more contact with staff on road. The recent Culture Survey (last years) said that management were not on-road, they were not contactable. Team Leaders now have laptops and are working in multiple areas so they can be seen by more employees. Some steps to address the survey responses have occurred and others are under development. These will be communicated at a later date.

Community Transport and Inappropriate Jobs
Grayland’s jobs with escorts and interhospital transfers have occurred and some terminally ill patients have been transported. Formed patients (over the last 3 months) have been tasked with an escort. This is not appropriate, and a review should occur regarding these types of calls.

As the scope has been greatly reduced, this should no longer occur. This item has been removed, again if it arises, please contact the AEAWA for it to be re-added.

PTS Dispatch During Jobs (raised in the previous JCC)
Dispatch often calling whilst they are dealing with patients, some crews cannot answer the call, and officers are being called repeatedly. One case a crew were wearing gowns and could not answer the call and received numerous calls. AEAWA – Crews are not happy as nearly every 20 minutes they are getting a call. There was an acknowledgment that ‘welfare checks’ are required in the community, but many of these calls are occurring whilst crews are in hospitals. It appears there has been a directive to call crews every 20-minutes to see what the holdup is. SJA were going to review.

The AEAWA raised that this is still occurring and provided numerous examples. SJA stated that if crews can not physically answer the phone – don’t answer it. As soon as the crew is able, call comms and let them know and just advise you couldn’t answer at that time.

Ready Now Calls (raised in the previous JCC)
Calls are getting brought forward to ‘ready now’ and the patient is never ready. Sometimes crews are driving 30 minutes to a ready now call only to be told the paperwork isn’t ready. The question was raised who changes the call to ready now? SJA – stated this will be reviewed, specifically how the ready now gets activated and assigned. There was no clear answer on how this occurs, and feedback will be presented around this.

The AEAWA stated this is still happening, many crews are saying the same thing, the job is booked as ready now but when you arrive on the ward the nurse says your early, we are not ready and then the crew must help the nurse pack patients belongings and wait for paperwork. Some cases people have been picked up early but when arrived at the destination, the other end is not ready as they still have a patient waiting to go or a room to be cleaned.

SJA stated to call comms and let them know you have arrived and the patient is not ready, provide an estimated ready time and comms will make the decision if you stay or not. Instruction will be sent out to Transport employees explaining this soon.

Reporting damaged vehicles
Some look appalling, hubcaps missing, dents. Items missing. SJA want staff to report these so the insurance claims can be processed. SJA reiterated today this will not create a discussion point with any officer, this is a safety issue. Anyone can report the damage, the organisation will not assume that the reporting officer caused the damage. Crews reporting these issues early can reduce severe damage occurring to the vehicles or even injury to their colleagues. These issues when left will become worse.

The AEAWA are supportive of reporting damage to vehicles ASAP to increase member safety.

Reasonable Overtime
Our members in the country have stated that on occasions they are ‘coerced’ into doing long shift extensions. An example given was a crew who were knocking off in three-hours when they were given a transfer to Perth, effectively a 7-hour turnaround. Yes, the crew has three hours left to work, but a four-hour shift extension is NOT reasonable. SJA will review these occurrences.

As always if a member finds themselves in this situation, let us know immediately and we can discuss this at a senior Management level to resolve this. Of course, if you are happy to do it…. Enjoy the OT.

Wheelchair Grab Handle
A discussion took place on the grab handle being too low and too far away, if the patient has reduced capacity to hold their weight on the bar or even reach it, it can be extremely difficult for a solo officer to assist the patient in and out of the vehicle. Engineering have reviewed this and there is no other option in replacing the grab handle.

In light of this result the AEAWA would like to remind all our members as always, your safety is our concern. If you need assistance call for a backup. If this request is denied contact the AEAWA directly.

Wheelchair Head Rest
Members have asked if the head rest on the wheelchair has to be used during transport. The response was, it is in the instruction manual to do so, and it is safer for patients. Hence it should be used at all times.

Bariatric Wheelchair
Members are reminded that there is no bariatric wheelchair, crews should call Team Leaders to provide assistance.

People refusing wheelchair shifts
SJA are currently reviewing is this a skill set issue, a training issue or a confidence issue? Further feedback will be provided when available.

Heating in the Transfer Bus
Members have stated it is extremely cold and patients often complain. This was reviewed and the feedback was there is no place to house the heater due to the stretcher configuration and the general design of the vehicle.

Changing Shift Times
If staff want to change times, contact management and they will see if the changes do not impact in a negative way. If not, then the change will be considered. Flexibility in roster times should be able to occur. SJA will review all requests.

Shift Extensions
Notify comms if you cannot do OT at the end of the shift. Instances of crews calling to advise late in the shift can cause issues, If a member provides sufficient notice, the request will have a higher chance of approval.

Any issues with this directive please contact the AEAWA.

Transport Specific Rostering Capability
An employee is now working with rosters that is Transport specific. The role is assisting many of these changes. There has been a downward trend in absenteeism since this has been established. SJA will review if there is a permanent need for this role.

Some concern amongst the membership regarding advertising this role. The AEAWA will inform officers of the outcome.

Contacting Clinical Support Paramedics
Use of CSPs and inconstant information – CSP’s are a larger organisational resource and not necessarily a transport specific role. Take the clinical guidance at a time. Questions were raised that some CSPs don’t really have an understanding of Transport specific issues and their specific CPGs. SJA have stated to always follow the CSP advice. CSPs are shift colour specific and most transport employees work Monday-Friday, so continuity is always going to be difficult to maintain.

Hospitals telling crews what jobs they are doing
A crew attended a hospital for one job and the hospital staff stated no you’re doing this one. SJA have stated crews placed in this situation should call comms and feedback what is occurring on-scene.

The AEAWA agree, it should not be up to the officers to sort this. Management should be contacted, and that Manager should be calling the hospital and making a decision of who is to be transported.

Next meeting
TBA