Page 4216 - Week 14 - Wednesday, 23 October 1991
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. the recording is left to the officers discretion and interpretation;
. there are usually no witnesses to those un-taped calls if they are later disputed.
Mr Humphries was very careful not to mention those words from the letter signed by Mr Macdonald, and of course he was very careful to avoid his own responsibility in this matter - that is, the responsibility to ensure that the Ambulance Service is properly equipped.
This Government has moved quickly to repair the damage that was done to the Ambulance Service, as a result of the absence of proper recording equipment, by providing expensive recording equipment at short notice to ensure, firstly, that members of the community can be sure that their calls are properly recorded and therefore there will be a facility for them to be properly investigated; and, secondly, that ambulance officers can properly protect themselves by way of reference to recorded information in relation to calls for assistance.
Mr Humphries also failed to refer to the comments of Mr Gillard, who was the acting director of the ACT Ambulance Service at the time and the person responsible for management of the Ambulance Service then. He failed to mention Mr Gillard's recommendations, which read as follows:
That the Board of Health issue an immediate media release in an attempt to reassure the public that the Ambulance Service procedures are sound and that the service is reliable.
Of course, it became reliable as a result of Labor's actions. The recommendations continue:
That the Board await a further report from the Service relating to the provision of communication recording equipment.
Ms Follett: Done.
MR BERRY: Done - fixed up by the Labor Government. The recommendations further state:
That you note that the Ambulance Service will review the current standing orders with the purpose of further defining the directions therein, in an attempt to present -
that should read "prevent", I am sure -
a repeat occurrence of a like incident which occurred on 16 July 1991.
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