New Queensland Ambulance Service Assistant Commissioner takes the reins for Darling Downs

The new QAS boss for the Darling Downs and Southwest has put the call out for triple-0 operators to be based in Toowoomba. It is a job that does not require any prior training, but you do have to be handy with a keyboard.

Peta Thompson is the newly appointed Queensland Ambulance Service Assistant Commissioner for the Darling Downs and South West Region.

When Queensland Ambulance Service Assistant Commissioner Peta Thompson was a young girl and living with her grandparents, police came to her family’s door with tragic news.

Her aunt had been hit by a car and the driver fled the scene, leaving her on the roadside with life-threatening injuries.

It was a life-changing moment, and set Ms Thompson along the path towards a career in the Queensland Ambulance Service.

“It was a really important piece to understand what I wanted to do with my life,” she said.

“My aunt had a terrible accident and the paramedics looked after her and cared for her in a sustainable way.”

Three decades later, Ms Thompson has ascended to command of the Darling Downs and Southwest District.

It is her first substantial rural placement, having started her career taking triple-0 calls, before moving into paramedicine.

Ms Thompson said she will use her time in the bush to further integrate the QAS with the wide range of hospital and allied health services.

“The work out here is different,” she said.

“People in rural and remote communities don’t call triple-0 unless they need to.”

Not every patient needs to go to the emergency department and Ms Thompson said there were alternative pathways, like referring patients to mental health services.

This starts the moment a patient or their loved one phones triple-0.

“It is their first connection with the service and how we network them into providing the right health care,” Ms Thompson said.

“It is really important and it helps our emergency departments as well.

“I would love to increase that health system integration, improve the equity of access to health care and open up how we can provide better health care to people in their homes and in their communities, rather than having to drive long distances.”

Recruitment will also be in focus with the service looking to hire more triple-0 call takers to be based in Toowoomba and the Darling Downs.

“We’ll take as many as we can get,” Ms Thompson said.

There is no education requirement for the job, but recruits do need to pass several tests, including a typing test.

If successful, all the training is provided on the job.

“You are part of the Queensland Ambulance Service,” Ms Thompson said.

“You're considered front line staff.”