Page 4003 - Week 14 - Tuesday, 22 October 1991
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MR BERRY: Dozens. Since then, of course, there has been significant pressure within the ACT Ambulance Service to ensure that there are four ambulances available at all times throughout the ACT. That has been a very difficult job for the Government. It has required significant work to ensure that the Ambulance Service is gradually brought up to speed.
Another issue has been the provision of appropriate recording equipment for the receipt of emergency calls and the dispatch of resources to emergencies. Mr Speaker, shortly after coming to government, I became aware that the aged recording equipment within the Ambulance Service had failed. That came to my attention as a result of a complaint by a member of the community who had alleged that he required an ambulance for somebody who was in trouble.
These allegations could not be confirmed because of the failure of the aged recording equipment which had received no attention from the Alliance Government. This absence of mind and ignorance of duty to the people of Canberra not only had resulted in the community member not being able to satisfy his complaint by way of some sort of record but also prevented the ambulance officer concerned having a defence which could rule out any question as to his ability to provide a first-class service to the community.
A subsequent investigation, Mr Speaker, showed that there was no way of determining the matter without an appropriate record being held in the Ambulance Service. The officer concerned was a longstanding officer who had observed a longstanding commitment to the provision of ambulance services in the Territory.
That inquiry prompted the service to move more quickly towards the provision of adequate recording equipment. Subsequently, funding was approved to pay for the new recording equipment. That amounted to around $38,000, as I understand it. I am happy to say that that equipment has now been installed, and in future the Ambulance Service will be in a position to record and recover information from that machine not only to satisfy the complaints of the community, if they have some, but also to defend ambulance officers against whom allegations have been made.
I think that is a refreshing new start for the ACT Ambulance Service. I can say to this Assembly that Labor, while in office, will ensure that the replacement for that new machine will be properly planned. The real problem with this whole episode was that the replacement for the old machine was not properly planned. The former Minister, Mr Humphries, has to take responsibility for that and for all of the concerns that have been expressed by the community because of the failure of that equipment.
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