Page 4164 - Week 12 - Thursday, 1 December 2022
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(c) according to the Transport Workers’ Union spokesperson, the one ComCen program has lagged for seven years and delivered nothing other than a change in uniforms; and
(3) calls on the Minister for Police and Emergency Services to:
(a) detail to the Assembly all actions he is taking to address the issues raised by the ambulance officers; and
(b) report back in the first sitting day of 2023 with a progress report; and
(4) thanks paramedics and ACTAS staff for their dedication, effort and hard work in caring for Canberrans, particularly during the pandemic.”.
I am pleased to have the opportunity to talk about our hardworking paramedics and staff within the ACT Ambulance Service. They are some of our hardest working Canberrans. I once again place on the record my thanks for their work, and I acknowledge their efforts, particularly through the pandemic. Ambulance services nationally have faced some extraordinary pressures over the past three or four years. Here in Canberra, natural disasters, the pandemic and a fast-growing and ageing population have placed an increasing demand on our Ambulance Service.
We have seen this growth in demand for all emergency services, particularly in mental health and primary health care. In fact, I can confirm that incoming calls through our triple-0 communication centre to request assistance have increased by 11 per cent in just the past year. Despite this growing demand, through the sustained dedication of our ambulance workforce and the government’s investment in our Ambulance Service, the ACT has continued to record some of the best response times in the country, as well as high levels of patient satisfaction.
The government has made substantial investments in and improvements to our Ambulance Service. We will build on the work already started with ACTAS staff, the TWU and the ESA to continue to improve and modernise the Ambulance Service. Since our government was elected in 2020 more than $50 million in funding has been provided to the ACT Ambulance Service. Since 2018 the ACT Ambulance Service has recruited over 100 paramedics. These paramedics filled additional paramedic roles to increase the frontline workforce, addressed attrition or supplemented the workforce to allow the adoption of better flexible working arrangements.
In relation to the headcount figures presented in the annual report, it is important to note that the headcount figures capture the number on the day reported. This number does not account for positions that may be unfilled—for example, due to recruitment underway. The pandemic has presented particular challenges in recruitment. The current skills and labour shortage has also impacted recruitment. On top of this, there are national and global challenges in recruiting paramedics.
In response, the ACT Ambulance Service continues to explore ways to respond to these challenges. I understand that one change has been to implement continuous recruitment. This means commencing a recruitment round as soon as a round has closed. I am also informed that ACTAS are hoping to have up to 30 recruits by the end of this financial year. These will cover attrition and add to the overall number.
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