Mali the ambo: Premier Peter Malinauskas rides in ambulance overnight to see ‘first hand’ the pressures health staff face

Paramedic graduates will be guaranteed a job in SA, as Premier Peter Malinauskas announces a huge recruitment drive after witnessing “first hand” the pressures on our state’s health system.

Premier Peter Malinauskas has announced a recruitment drive for paramedics, after witnessing “first hand” the pressure our health system is under.

Mr Malinauskas joined SA paramedics Jess Bastian and Luke Nottage in their ambulance from 8.30pm to almost 3am overnight, ahead of an announcement today that the first group of 32 interns promised as part of Labor’s election campaign to recruit an extra 350 ambos will start work on Monday.

Mr Malinauskas said he was able to see first hand “just how dire” the need was for more ambulance officers and paramedics who “barely get a break” while on shift.

“This is mission critical and we are determined to not just meet our commitment but to actually make a difference to the lives of those people that ambos care for,” he said.

“What we’ve got at the moment is a system that’s under so much pressure, there is literally no respite, you go from one job to the other and that takes its toll.”

Premier Peter Malinauskas spent a night with paramedics. Picture: Brenton Edwards

Mr Malinauskas with paramedics Luke Nottage and Jess Bastian. Picture: Brenton Edwards

The new recruitment drive seeks to fill the 350 new positions above attrition over four years from a pool of highly skilled and experienced paramedics, including from interstate. Of those, 278 will be paramedics and 72 will be ambulance officers.

Mr Malinauskas said the extra recruits would mean the vast majority of Flinders University paramedic science graduates – about 100 per year – would be guaranteed jobs in South Australia. Previously, about 48 graduates were offered internships each year, and many graduates left for jobs interstate.

Under the $124m plan, an additional 99 ambulance officers, paramedics and triple-0 call takers will be employed by July 1 next year.

One of the new interns who starts on Monday, Alicia Covino, said she fell in love with the idea of helping people while volunteering for the CFS and dreamed about becoming a paramedic.

“It feels pretty surreal … it’s just so cool to get this opportunity to start my life and to have the opportunity to work with different people,” she said.

She hoped the extra ambos would help her new colleagues to provide better care for patients.

Premier Peter Malinauskas arrives at a job with paramedic Jess Bastian. Picture: Brenton Edwards

Mr Malinauskas watches paramedics Luke Nottage and Jess Bastian work with a patient. Picture: Brenton Edwards

The government has also promised an additional 550 beds to relieve pressure on the state’s health system.

To learn more about the work of ambos, Mr Malinauskas spent his Saturday night transferring patients with a range of health concerns to hospitals around the metropolitan region. He also stopped to chat to health staff and comforted patients.

As soon as he clocked on, Mr Malinauskas, Ms Bastian and Mr Nottage were off from Prospect to Enfield.

There, they attended the first patient who they transferred to the Queen Elizabeth hospital. On arrival, the patient was seen and did not experience ramping.

Mr Malinauskas watches as a patient is triaged at the QEH Emergency Department. Picture: Brenton Edwards

From there, the crew drove to the north eastern suburbs and transferred another patient to the Lyell McEwin Hospital, where they experienced a bit of ramping but Mr Malinauskas said “it was nothing” compared the lengthy ramping experiences ambulances regularly face.

The hospital was packed with ambulance officers and patients needing medical attention.

Mr Malinauskas with paramedics Luke Nottage and Jess Bastian as he spends a night shift with paramedics in an ambulance. Picture: Brenton Edwards

Mr Malinauskas reassures a man after whose wife is being taken to hospital. Picture: Brenton Edwards

The Premier took to social media to share some of his experience on the road.

“We are on our way to a call out in the northern suburbs of Adelaide,” he said in a video posted to Twitter.

“It’s another busy night in the ambulance service.”

Out with an @SA_Ambulance crew tonight seeing first hand the amazing work they do, and the pressure they are under. pic.twitter.com/hKMxxqL11L

— Peter Malinauskas (@PMalinauskasMP) June 4, 2022

Mr Malinauskas said it was amazing to see first-hand the incredible work SA’s ambulance staff do, calling the experience an “interesting journey” on a later Facebook live.

“Seeing through the course of the evening, you can see absolutely why we need to give a lot more attention and support not just to our ambos but to people working in the emergency departments and the hospital system” he said.

Medical staff took the opportunity to tell the Premier about their experiences working in SA’s health care system.