Chief Paramedic Officer Michelle Piercy on her new role in the Northern Territory

The Territory’s first Chief Paramedic Officer has been tasked by NT Health with providing expert advice and leadership on how to support some of the region’s most vulnerable. Find out more.

The Territory's new Chief Paramedic Officer Michelle Piercy has spoken about her new role and shares her initial thoughts on how paramedics can offer greater support across the region. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Riding in the back of an ambulance is just one way paramedics can be used, says the Territory’s first Chief Paramedic Officer, who has been tasked by NT Health with providing expert advice and leadership on how to support some of the region’s most vulnerable.

Earlier this year, Michelle Piercy was announced as the Territory’s first CPO, making the NT the second jurisdiction in the country – after Victoria – to install such a position.

In addition to her own paramedic and specialist nursing background, Ms Piercy enters the new role with extensive experience working with Indigenous communities across North Australia, New Zealand and Vanuatu.

Now based in Darwin, Ms Piercy will be providing leadership and expert advice relating to paramedicine services in the Territory. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Now based in Darwin, Ms Piercy has turned her attention to workforce planning and providing expert advice on paramedicine services, as well as pre-hospital care across the Territory.

Her arrival coincides with Territory health workers battling to keep up with a mounting number of emergency calls.

Last month, St John NT revealed staff members were working “beyond” their limits due to a significant spike in triple-0 calls.

Data revealed by the Productivity Commission showed emergency calls had almost doubled since 2019-20.

Paramedics, including with St John NT (pictured), have been confronted with rising triple-0 calls. Picture: Alex Treacy

At the time, St John NT director of ambulance services Andrew Thomas said the handful of ambulance crews which worked simultaneously across Darwin, Katherine and Alice Springs were stretched further when responding to an emergency in a remote location.

In an exclusive interview with the NT News, Ms Piercy maintained paramedics could provide services beyond the “blue and red sirens” and said work was underway to explore new ways to help the Territory’s most vulnerable.

“Over the last 10 years, paramedics have registered and started working in slightly more specialised streams,” she said.

“Paramedics can work in oil and gas, privately, in the air, in aged care, prisons and out on remote sites.”

Paramedic support to remote communities is hindered by distance, access and natural disasters. Picture: Keri Megelus

Distance, poor roads, and natural disasters remain ongoing issues for remote communities seeking healthcare, with the tension between patients travelling for healthcare or paramedics travelling to patients well understood by Ms Piercy.

“We do sit down with professional leaders and topics like this do get discussed,” she said.

“There’s really good research to show us where health assets should best be placed to support communities and what good health and community looks like – trying to enable workforces to meet those needs is always going to be a struggle.”

Despite the region’s unique challenges, the new CPO said she thought the Territory was heading in a “really good direction”.

“The Territory has a high Indigenous population and it’s geographically really dispersed which creates barriers, but the initiatives we have are really progressive in the way it's looking at (those challenges),” she said.

“So it’s a beautiful time to be jumping in as a professional and help the work that’s being done.”

Originally published as Chief Paramedic Officer Michelle Piercy on her new role in the Northern Territory