Inquiry hears concerns over Ambulance Victoria’s workplace culture
Whistleblowers have lifted the lid on Ambulance Victoria’s toxic culture, with paramedics concerned “the service is crumbling” and people’s lives are being put at risk.
Victoria
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Several lives have been lost and many more are being put at risk due to a toxic culture of harassment, poor management, burnout and a resourcing crisis in Ambulance Victoria, a parliamentary inquiry has heard.
Submissions filed by paramedics, patients and their families to the Victorian parliament’s inquiry into the ambulance service expose escalating concerns as new figures show WorkCover payouts at the agency are soaring.
The inquiry has also been warned that ramping – ambulances parked outside emergency departments for hours at a time while patients wait for hospital treatment – has cost several lives and endangers more.
Examples in submissions of ambulance delays where patients have died include:
• An 83-year-old dementia patient who died after waiting hours for treatment;
• A man, 96, who died after waiting six hours for an ambulance after breaking a leg; and
• A 94-year-old great-grandmother, Wilma Wippell, who died after waiting several hours for an ambulance following a fall at her nursing home.
Wilma’s daughter, Glenda Black, said after a complaint to Ambulance Victoria she was told “an ambulance wasn’t available and they couldn’t tell us why or where any ambulances were at the time”.
“Mum had been on a cold hard floor in considerable pain in a very confused state while we watched on helplessly,” Mrs Black wrote in her submission to the inquiry.
“The stress and trauma waiting for an ambulance when my elderly mum was in so much need, and we felt totally helpless watching her suffering so much, will never be forgotten.”
The inquiry has also been told about the case of an 18-month-old baby administered with a near-fatal dose of medication by a graduate paramedic.
The baby’s body shut down soon after she was given the incorrect dosage, leaving her unresponsive.
“It will not be known until my baby grows up if the restriction in blood flow caused any brain injury,” the baby’s mother said.
More than 60 submissions have already been lodged with the inquiry, which is investigating core issues affecting Ambulance Victoria including major concerns over workplace culture, paramedics’ conditions, issues with dispatch and hospital ramping.
Premier Jacinta Allan has said she will not appear before the upper house probe, and as a lower house MP the Premier cannot be compelled to attend.
Amid the dozens of submissions are multiple complaints by paramedics about an ongoing toxic culture, almost five years since a Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission report exposed bullying and harassment within the service.
Latest data from Ambulance Victoria’s 2023-24 annual report shows the agency paid out a record $108m in WorkCover claims for the year, $20m more than the previous year.
The figures showed there were, on average, 10.4 claims made for every 100 full-time roles, with the average claim cost jumping from $101,000 in 2023 to $111,800.
More than one in 10 of those did not have a return-to-work plan, compared with 100 per cent of claims for the previous three years.
“Despite the VEHROC investigation, Ambulance Victoria still has a big problem with the way they deal with bullying and harassment,” one paramedic told the inquiry.
“After being physically, emotionally and sexually harassed by a fellow paramedic requiring an intervention order to be put in place by Victoria Police due to concerns regarding my safety, my perpetrator was allowed back into the workforce after five out of eight allegations were substantiated.
“This person was stood down for 12 months with full pay.”
Other paramedics, who asked not to be named, also raised concerns about organisational failings.
“Victorians are left waiting much longer than they should be for ambulances, with arrival times not often met,” one paramedic said.
“Money continues to be wasted and poorly spent with executives profiting while the public struggle.”
Another said: “The service is crumbling, and morale is not improving. Fatigue management is next to non-existent with crews being sent to low-acuity cases at all hours.
“There is also a toxic culture, particularly prevalent in senior leadership, which in part stems from a disconnection between those managers and the staff they manage.”
Paramedics last year passed a vote of no-confidence in former chief executive Jane Miller. She resigned shortly after.
An Ambulance Victoria spokesman said a dedicated program was being established to improve working conditions, adding: “Discrimination, bullying and harassment has no place at Ambulance Victoria.”
Burnt-out healthcare workers want out
More than one in 10 healthcare workers are contemplating quitting, the national regulator has revealed, citing burnout, a feeling of being undervalued and other grievances.
A survey of more than 25,000 mostly allied health workers has found more than 5 per cent planning to leave, while almost 7 per cent are “unsure” of their futures.
The survey, commissioned by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency, has exposed workforce gaps in dentistry, paramedicine and crucial allied health fields such as radiography and optometry.
Some professions reported even higher numbers, with more than 16 per cent of osteopaths intending to leave or unsure of their futures, and 15 per cent of paramedics.
The results, published in the Australian Health Review, show most workers – across all occupations – who intend to leave plan to do so immediately, or within a year.
Practitioners over 60 were almost three times more likely to walk than those aged 35 to 60, often citing retirement.
But the survey, which also included podiatrists, occupational therapists, chiropractors and Chinese medicine practitioners, also found more concerning reasons among younger cohorts.
More than half of workers under 35 who planned to leave blamed a lack of recognition and feeling undervalued, while 44 per cent of 35 to 60-year-old workers intending to quit blamed mental burnout.
The other top five reasons were lack of professional satisfaction and work no longer being fulfilling.
Enjoyment of work, fulfilling work and work-life balance were the most common reasons to stay.
The research also found, while overall practitioner numbers had increased in the past 10 years, replacement rates have fluctuated, highlighting concerns about workforce stability.
AHPRA acting chief executive Kym Ayscough said the sector could improve retention by understanding why – and which – people chose to stay or leave.
“(This) can be used to inform targeted retention interventions,” she said.
The new data came as the government announced a recruitment campaign that aims to highlight the benefits of primary care and allied health roles.
Health Minister Mark Butler said: “Considering how critically important primary healthcare professions are, it seems incredible that we are the first Australian government to run a careers campaign like this.
“This new campaign will highlight the rewards and joys of the many different professions in primary health care, one person and one case at a time.”
- with Sarah Booth
Originally published as Inquiry hears concerns over Ambulance Victoria’s workplace culture
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