Paramedics call for Ambulance Victoria executives to be sacked

Jacinta Allan hasn’t ruled out placing the besieged Ambulance Victoria into administration, as union members passed a vote of “no confidence” in the agency’s executive.

Paramedics have called on the government to sack Ambulance Victoria’s executives in a damning move, as the agency’s chief executive acknowledged “far reaching change” was needed in an email to staff.

A staggering 97.8 per cent of Victorian Ambulance Union members passed a vote of “no confidence” in the agency’s executive on Friday, calling on the board and Ambulance Services Minister to “take urgent action to appoint new management”.

On Friday afternoon, Premier Jacinta Allan didn’t rule out placing the besieged Ambulance Victoria into administration.

Just a day after declaring she had confidence in the organisation’s executive, Ms Allan said the government had now sought further advice because the current conflict between the Ambulance Victoria executive and paramedics is not tenable.

VAU secretary Danny Hill said the result of the union vote should be a “massive wake up call” to the board and government, warning the agency was “taking the service in a different direction away from the core role of an emergency service”.

It comes after months of industrial action where forced overtime, the dangers of fatigue, and the hours-long ambulance queues outside hospitals have become a sticking point.

Mr Hill said hospital ramping and call taking accuracy were “the biggest factors crippling the ambulance service and our members”.

“AV’s response is always “that’s out of our control”,” he said.

“The workforce is sick of hearing that”.

In a leaked email to staff, Ambulance Victoria’s chief executive Jane Miller acknowledged paramedics were under an “enormous” amount of pressure.

The agency’s chief executive Jane Miller told paramedics, in an organisation-wide email ahead of Friday’s vote, the team recognised their workers were “under enormous pressure” and ambulance ramping “has an unacceptable impact on you and your patients”.

In the leaked email, seen by the Herald Sun, she said she and the executive team regretted that employees “experience at work … is not where it should be” and admitted EBA negotiations “had gone on for far too long”.

“We recognise that you are under enormous pressure and that there needs to be far-reaching change to improve your experience at work,” she said.

“We … acknowledge your concerns about call-taking and dispatch.

“When I started at AV in January last year, I gave you a commitment we would transform for the better – and we are.”

She listed improvements included filling 150 operational leadership roles, digital radio upgrades and roster changes.

A staggering 97.8 per cent of Victorian Ambulance Union members passed a vote of “no confidence”. Picture: Luis Enrique Ascui

“You have our commitment that we continue to recognise and prioritise work to address the high levels of incidental overtime, fatigue and rostering changes,” she said.

“Some of these challenges are outside our control, as I know you are aware, and we continue to advocate strongly for improvements, working with our partners across the health system.”

But the email was not enough to change the minds of the vast majority of the approximately 4200 Victorian Ambulance Union members who voted in favour of a ‘no confidence’ motion.

Mr Hill said the situation was as bad as in 2014, when the Andrews Government appointed an administrator to Ambulance Victoria and sacked the agency’s board.

“The situation now is as dire as it was back then and we need new leadership to break the inertia in AV,” he said.

The union has repeatedly criticised the call-taking system, which workers must use, for “over-triaging” cases, resulting in paramedics being sent under lights and sirens to non-urgent cases including blood noses and injured animals.

On Thursday, Ms Allan said it was too early to consider appointing administrators but just one day later conceded change was needed because the ongoing conflict is unacceptable.

“I am concerned that we are seeing clear challenges in the relationship between management and paramedics. This is not a sustainable situation,” she said.

“We do need to see these matters resolved. These matters between management and the workforce can’t continue in this way.

“We do need to see better, harmonious relationships.”

Ambulance Services Minister Mary-Anne Thomas has sought advice from the health department but the government is remaining tight lipped on what is being considered.

The agency did not directly respond to questions asking if the executive team would step down, but Ms Miller said in a statement they respected “our people’s right to voice their concerns” and acknowledged the vote.

“We are committed to rebuilding the trust of the workforce in our Executive team and will continue working extremely hard to ensure our organisation is one that we can all be proud of,” she said.

“Our people, along with the patients they care for, are our absolute priority.

“We are negotiating in good faith with our people and their bargaining representatives to deliver an enterprise agreement which is fair for all and acknowledges the significant value of our people.

“Our paramedics are working under enormous pressure, and we continue to prioritise work to address high levels of incidental overtime, fatigue and rostering challenges, improve call-taking and dispatch, and help our people finish their shifts on time.”