The Australian Paramedics Association (NSW) is appalled at the con job being performed on the local community by NSW Ambulance over two new Ambulance Stations at Berry and St George's Basin on the South Coast.
APA (NSW) deputy president Glenn Congram said millions of dollars had been spent to construct both ambulance stations and yet they were frequently closed with the limited numbers of paramedics in the area are deployed to backfill rosters at other ambulance stations in the region. He said the staffing arrangements were a bid to save on overtime costs.
"These two ambulance stations, Berry and "Bay and Basin," were opened with a great deal of local publicity by the Berejiklian Government but they have not been included in the NSW Ambulance "minimum operating levels" for the South Coast," Mr Congram said.
"And because of that they are routinely closed when regional staff numbers are tight," he said.
"They were closed on Christmas Day and New Year's Eve. They are only manned at 'half strength' and when there are a run of sickies at other stations, Berry and Bay and Basin shut down."
"They look like ambulance stations but the community should not be deceived. Under NSW Ambulance procedures, they might as well not be there," he said. "They are 'fake stations' that have not had the proper number of staff appointed to take account of the growing population in the area."
Mr Congram said that until the two stations were included in minimum operating levels, they would not benefit from the additional 750 paramedics being recruited by NSW Ambulance over the next four years.
"NSW Ambulance has not increased staffing to the area since 2000," he said.
"To suggest response times and ambulance coverage in the areas is being enhanced because two new ambulance stations have been built is a sick joke on the local community," he said.
APA (NSW) Secretary Steve Pearce said the public deserved a better service that they were receiving on the South Coast.
"The community in the Shoalhaven were led to believe they would be getting full-time Ambulance Stations with dedicated staff," Mr Pearce said.
"Instead NSW Ambulance and the Berejiklian Government have built two part-time ambulance stations which are the first to be shut down when the pressure of work increases and not enough staff are rostered."
"This is an attempt to con the community into thinking they are safe when in reality, when Berry or Bay and Basin stations are closed, help in an emergency could be a long way off and lives are being placed at risk."
