Ambulance staff suspended after mentioning lack resources to caller

TWO ambulance staff were suspended after telling a caller on Sydney’s northern beaches that there would be a delay in responding due to a “lack of resources”.

The immediate suspension of the officers placed ­additional pressure on the ­existing call and dispatch staff.

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TWO ambulance officers have been removed from duty after telling a triple-0 caller there were “not enough ambulances” to ­respond to a plea for help.

In an incident that has outraged unions and ambulance staff, the employees were ­removed from their posts on a busy Friday.

The initial incident ­occurred on Thursday, June 22, when a caller phoned from Sydney’s northern beaches, asking to take a teenager with an ankle injury to Mona Vale Hospital.

The suspended officers do not ­deserve to be punished for speaking the truth, a union spokesman said.

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Former ambulance officer Steve McDowell, who posted details of the incident on his support group Facebook page No More Neglect, said the ­caller became irate after being told there would be a delay.

Mr McDowell said the Sydney Control Centre call-taker explained there were not enough ambulances to cover the workload. An ambulance dispatch officer also contacted the caller to explain the delay, at which point the caller said they would use a private car.

The following night, both the call-taker and dispatch officer were told they were being suspended, Mr McDowell said.

He said the instruction was made by the centre duty manager, who was taking orders from NSW Ambulance management.

Mr McDowell said transcripts of conversations between the caller and the call-taker and dispatch officer were obtained before both staff members were suspended.

The immediate suspension of the officers placed ­additional pressure on the ­existing call and dispatch staff.

Mr McDowell said there had been suggestions the caller had contacted the office of Premier Mike Baird, which sought a response from NSW Ambulance, triggering the ­suspension.

However, Mr Baird’s office yesterday said it had no record of any call about the issue. Mr McDowell said the standing down of two staff members for explaining a ­response issue to a caller was “bizarre”.

“If someone does something incredibly wrong, then it can be understood, but this is a bizarre incident involving two staff who were trying to ­explain to a caller why there was no ambulance,” he said.

“The sad thing is that this is not a one-off case. I’ve had hundreds of calls relating to ­allegations of ­bullying behaviour in what is supposed to be a trusted ­profession.”

Health Services Union ­secretary Gerard Hayes said the suspensions flew in the face of assurances by Health Minister Jillian Skinner that people who spoke out would not be threatened.

“This highlights the heavy-handed response of the NSW government when someone speaks out about the lack of ­resourcing in the ­system. Rather than punishing those who highlight this problem, Minister Skinner should heed their concerns.

“These people do not ­deserve to be punished for speaking the truth,” he said.

A NSW Ambulance spokeswoman said: “As a result of an incident in June, two staff were temporarily removed from duty while the incident was ­reviewed. Both have since ­returned to duty following counselling and an incident ­review with their manager. Welfare support was provided by NSW Ambulance. The matter is now finalised.”