Page 4136 - Week 14 - Thursday, 25 October 1990
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24-hour shift, and that as a result of increasing the number of crews there were no staff available for the clinical transport service?
MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Speaker, first of all I might correct a mistake Mr Connolly has made. I do not believe I referred to yesterday; I believe I referred to Tuesday.
Mr Connolly: To Tuesday. I am sorry.
MR HUMPHRIES: Tuesday is the day on which there were five crews operating.
Mr Connolly: Yes, you said it yesterday, referring to Tuesday.
MR HUMPHRIES: Yes, all right. In terms of the other matters that Mr Connolly refers to, I do not believe that any of the circumstances whereby those crews are manned or the circumstances which Mr Connolly just brought to the attention of the Assembly whereby crews are manned are exceptional or out of the ordinary. They certainly do happen frequently from time to time, as they happened when Mr Berry was Minister. For example, it is often the case, frequently the case, that people without the highest level of qualification operate ambulance crews, and if one thinks about it, Mr Connolly, one realises that that is entirely logical. How else will a trainee ambulance officer get on-the-road experience, except by getting in an ambulance and being part of an ambulance crew?
Logically one has to train on the spot, on the job. One's training is not completed till one has finished one's training in real life situations rather than just on a blackboard, and it follows that sometimes crews will consist partly of people who are in training as well as those who are fully qualified. To my knowledge, we have not experienced, under this Government, any occasions when crews have consisted of no fully qualified people - to my knowledge, that is the case - but I can assure Mr Connolly and those opposite that it is not unsafe to have trainee officers on ambulance crews. It is an entirely appropriate circumstance and was certainly the case under Mr Berry.
MR CONNOLLY: I have a supplementary question. Will the Minister admit that, of the 71 staff of the Ambulance Service, only 28 are qualified and currently available to staff operational ambulances?
MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Speaker, we went through this debate in great detail yesterday, at great length, and the facts were indicated there. I am very happy to bring them back to Mr Connolly's attention if he missed them yesterday. The fact of life is that we went through all those details yesterday and I suggest that he pay a little more attention to what is going on. If they were not provided yesterday, of course I am very happy to take the question on notice and provide the information. It will be of no surprise at all
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