16 Breese Pde, Forster: New home for next Mid-North Coast Ambulance station
Frontline paramedics will be rewarded for their significant contribution to saving lives on the Mid-North Coast with a state-of-the-art ambulance station proposed for Forster. See what's included in the modern facility.
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The State Government is forging ahead with plans for a new ambulance station on the Mid-North Coast after lodging plans for a $5 million facility with gym, relief rooms and education training facilities at Forster.
The new station at 16 Breese Pde will replace the existing Great Lakes Council site, which will be cleared to make for the new facility that has been so desperately needed on the south-eastern side of Wallis Lake.
The proposed station will consist of an administration wing and plant room containing spaces for six ambulances. The wing will contain total of six internal plant room vehicle parking spaces; an external wash bay; two external covered parking bays;seven external staff/visitor parking spaces including one accessible space, and other amenity facilities including lockers, toilets, kitchen, common room, gym, relief quarters and an education training rooms.
The station is expected to be staffed at a rate of 24 full time equivalent paramedics by 2031, with emergency vehicle crews operating on 12 hour shifts.
Its location will be pivotal in allowing for emergency services to access areas where crews from Tuncurry have previously been tasked, but unable to attend due to accidents or incidents on the twin-towns bridge.
Once completed, the new station in Forster will include:
• Internal parking for up to six emergency ambulance vehicles;
• Administration and office areas;
• Staff amenities;
• Logistics and storage areas;
• Relief accommodation;
• Covered wash bay; and
• Staff parking;
Minister for Health and Medical Research Brad Hazzard said this was a significant milestone in the NSW Government’s commitment to build a new ambulance station in Forster as part of the $232 million Rural Ambulance Infrastructure Reconfiguration (RAIR) program.
“The community of Forster was identified by NSW Ambulance for a new ambulance station, to not only make the working lives of paramedics easier but ensure future demand for emergency services is met in the Mid North Coast region,” Mr Hazzard said.
“The NSW Government is investing in modern NSW Ambulance stations to support the clinical capability of our highly trained paramedics and today the Forster community is a step closer to getting their new ambulance station.”
Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Housing and Member for Myall Lakes, Stephen Bromhead welcomed the site announcement, and a first look at the design of the ambulance station.
“The location is in an optimal position, mapped using NSW Ambulance best practice demand modelling software," Mr Bromhead said.
"The site was purchased from Mid Coast Council and is a win-win with funds channeled back into the community. It’s exciting to see the design for the new station, which will be a contemporary facility for our local paramedics and ensure they have the latest equipment and infrastructure to continue to deliver high-quality care."
It is expected the new station will be operational sometime in 2022.
EARLIER
Paramedics protest new ambulance arrangements
June 30, 2021
The Australian Paramedics Association (APA) has voiced its concerns about the way a new staffing system will operate, and how it will meet the anticipated demand for emergency response call-outs – particularly at night.
Changes implemented on June 26 by Ambulance NSW saw an additional 17 staff deployed to Forster-Tuncurry – the highest number to any single location in Regional NSW – but it‘s the changes to the way they’ll be required to work, and the location many will be working from, which has angered the association.
APA spokeswoman Liu Bianchi told The Mid-North Coast News that three ambulances operate during the day and three at night.
She said the roster change will now produce three ambulances during the day, one ambulance during the afternoon, and only two ambulances at night.
“Importantly, all of these cars will be ‘on duty’, not ‘on call’,” she said.
“This means that they are far more likely to be used for low acuity work, like inter-hospital transfers.
“Consequently, they are far less likely to remain in town than an ‘on call’ crew, who are only responded in the case of urgent work.
“So now, there is no on-call, there is no surge capacity now … if there is an emergency and everyone is busy, there is no one to bring up the slack in any of those dire emergencies. We’ll have to wait for someone from Bulahdelah or Taree to come across.
“This is simply unacceptable and unsafe and our communities are being neglected due to under resourcing.”
Further to the issues with the new staff arrangements, is the state of the temporary Forster station that paramedics are working from — in Tuncurry — while the recently announced new station is delivered, sometime in 2022.
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard and Myall Lakes MP Stephen Bromhead announced a new station for Forster in March, to help ‘enhance access to emergency health care across Myall Lakes.’
No land has currently been purchased for the site, and there is no date set for its delivery.
In the meantime, paramedics have been stationed at a makeshift emergency operations centre at Tuncurry, which staff have to share with MidCoast Council workers.
Ms Bianchi described the centre as nothing more than a “tin shed”.
“When we found out that we were going to go into this shed I said, right, where’s the risk assessment? It was only until we got in there last week that I said ‘ there’s no smoke alarms’ … we don’t even have smoke alarms.
“That’s disgusting.”
“This tin shed has no showers, currently no undercover area for ambulance restocking or parking, no security lighting, no automated security gates and is simply not for purpose.”
“Let’s be real, these guys deserve better than that.”
Between January and March 2021, the number of all ambulance responses in the Great Lakes region increased by 23.2 per cent, compared to the same quarter the previous year, according to the Bureau of Health Information.
“Disconcertingly, emergency priority 1 responses went up 21.6 per cent and the highest response 1A (cardiac arrest) went up 52 per cent,” Ms Bianchi said.
“Coupled with the fact that NSWA (NSW Ambulance) has the lowest survival rate of cardiac arrest caused by ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia in the nation (NSW at 38 per cent vs 45.5 per cent Australian average) and Forster-Tuncurry has one of the highest ageing populations in the state – the situation we are currently in is grave.”
A NSW Ambulance spokesman told The Mid-North Coast News that the roster system implemented at Tuncurry was proposed by local staff, and introduces an afternoon shift to provide a better balance of work and lifestyle and help paramedics manage their health and wellbeing.
“NSW Ambulance agreed to the proposal based on the expected staffing enhancements at both locations,” he said, which includes 12 paramedics at the temporary Forster station, in Tuncurry, and five at the existing Tuncurry premises.
“While the fit-for-purpose Forster station is being built as part of the government’s $232 million Rural Ambulance Infrastructure Reconfiguration program, those paramedics will operate out of a temporary facility.
“The site has been fitted out with kitchen and dining area, lounges and meeting room facilities and NSW Ambulance is working with the local council to install carports and an automatic gate to provide better safety and security to our staff.”
The APA has published a petition online addressed to Mr Bromhead, and his office has made representations on the issue.
Those wishing to sign, can do so here.
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