Paramedics on the North-West Coast are facing mounting pressure as unfilled shifts become a regular occurrence.
Veteran Devonport paramedic Simone Haigh says the job is getting difficult.
“I’ve been in this job as a paramedic for 18 years. Coverage is getting worse and worse over time, we haven’t had increased crews,” Haigh said.
“It’s getting too hard. The morale’s too low. It’s difficult.”
To halve response times, the Health and Community Services Union says 130 new paramedics, including 40 in the North-West, are needed immediately.
“On Saturday night, there were two crews down out of five crews for the northwest coast region, which means … 40 of the available resources weren’t even rostered onto start work,” Assistant State Secretary of the Health and Community Services Union Lucas Digney said.
He disputed claims by the State Government that the paramedic workforce has increased in recent years.
“The 97 paramedics that they have made permanent recently have been employed by Ambulance Tasmania since Covid started,” Digney said.
Premier Jeremy Rockliff said the Government has “come good on our commitment when it comes to 45 new paramedics out in Rural and Regional Tasmania.”
