Most Hunter paramedics aren't getting proper meal breaks on a standard 12-hour shift, underlining the urgent need for more staff, the Australian Paramedics Association says. Login or signup to continue reading Brendan McIlveen, the association's NSW assistant secretary, said "we're entitled to two half-hour breaks in our standard 12-hour shifts and we don't get them". "The workload is too busy," he said, adding that this had been occurring "since COVID".
"You eat on the run. When you're at the hospital you'll quickly grab a sandwich or something like that and eat on the way to the next job," said Mr McIlveen, of Hamilton station. "There's not a chance to sit down, switch off, eat your food and not get a gut ache from eating too quickly.
" A NSW Ambulance spokesperson said "the safety of our staff and patients is our top priority". Its workforce and infrastructure program was "improving paramedic wellbeing with increasing opportunities for staff to take breaks and reduce fatigue". The NSW government said on Friday it was seeking expressions of interest for a suitable site for a new ambulance station at Edgeworth.
It was doing a "thorough land search to identify potential locations that best meet the needs of the community for ambulance operations". NSW Ambulance selects sites for new stations using software that maps triple-zero calls. "The exact locations of the new stations will be confirmed once the land search and acquisition process is finalised," the statement said.
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