‘Virtually nil’: Paramedic reveals lack of Ambulance Tasmania mental health support

A paramedic has spoken about the “despair” of the workload at Ambulance Tasmania at Damian Crump’s inquest, and how there is little mental health support. Latest >>

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AMBULANCE Tasmania managers have had “virtually nil” capacity to take care of staff welfare, a paramedic claims.

At a lengthy coronial inquest into the suicide of paramedic Damian Crump on Monday, Han-wei Lee said the agency didn’t have the structures to support staff mental health, agreeing with suggestions that the job of duty manager was a “thankless task”.

“It is. It seems unachievable and at times there’s a level of despair about the workload and not being able to get it all done, throughout all of Ambulance Tasmania,” Mr Lee, the ambulance coordinator for the emergency operations centre, said.

“The three operational regions don’t have much capacity to manage the mental health of staff.”

Mr Lee is the latest paramedic to give evidence at the inquest, which has canvassed an array of claims about the agency made by former and current staff including lax drug management, a toxic workplace culture and poor mental health structures.

Mr Lee agreed managers throughout the agency weren’t able to be proactive or improve processes because they were overworked.

Damian Crump.

Damian Crump.

He said not only were managers unable to plan and strategise, but that the agency had little capacity for managing human resources or dealing with mental health issues.

“Managing mental health can be very difficult and I don’t believe we’ve got the training or the support structures in place to manage that,” he said.

Mr Lee also said there would be no way to completely prevent “diversions” – where medication was taken for illegitimate purposes from the agency’s Mornington and Glenorchy drug stores.

He said that had been a particular problem in the agency’s outer areas – such as south of Huonville or near Bicheno or Swansea – where ambulances located far away from major stations would be “stockpiled” with medication kits.

However, he said there had been some improvements since Mr Crump’s December 2016, after which there was a medication management project.

Mr Crump died after accessing the Glenorchy stores, in accordance with a well-known “suicide plan” he kept on his phone.

Mr Lee described him as a “fantastic clinician and fantastic with patients”.

The three-week inquest continues Tuesday.

‘Devastated’: Ambulance boss explains Crump’s final day

March 17, 2021

THE AMBULANCE Tasmania manager who sprung paramedic Damian Crump accessing the agency’s drug stores before his suicide the same day says she is “heartbroken” by his death.

Kim Fazackerley, who was acting duty manager at the time of Mr Crump’s December 2016 death, told an inquest that she let the paramedic in on his day off when he told her he was there to collect a hard drive.

She said it later “hit me” that he was likely there to take medication, so went to check CCTV footage.

“It wasn’t until I got to the other side of the garage that I thought ‘oh no, I know exactly why he’s here’,” she told Coroner Olivia McTaggart on Tuesday.

Ms Fazackerley said she asked Mr Crump what he was doing, and he handed over drugs, before she asked him to follow her.

Tasmania Ambulance paramedic Damian Crump. Picture: Facebook

“I said I wanted to get him to the office and that I was concerned for his welfare … I said I can’t let you go home,” she said.

“He said ‘if you call police you’ll kill me’.

“I walked up to the other end of the garage because I didn’t want him to hear my conversations, I think I heard him say ‘I’m going outside for a smoke’.

“I couldn’t find him, looked around for his car and couldn’t find him.”

“I went back to the office and called police.”

Ms Fazackerley said she was “devastated” by the turn of events.

“I was very upset. I was trying to desperately get help,” she said.

“The days after what happened I was pretty upset. I was going through my head, could I have done more?

“I wouldn’t have turned my back in hindsight. There was so much going through my head, I did what I thought was best at the time.”

A fellow paramedic, whose name was suppressed from publication, told Ms McTaggart that Ambulance Tasmania would still not be able to stop staff accessing medication if they were determined to do so.

She explained that paramedics often worked solo or in regional areas, making scrutiny and supervision difficult, and she also described workloads as “overwhelming”.

The inquest continues Wednesday.

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