Ambulance Tasmania gave drugs and fluids bags to hungover staff, ex-paramedic tells inquest

An Ambulance Tasmania boss has responded to a slew of disturbing claims made about the agency this week. LATEST >>

• Ambulance Tasmania manager explains Damian Crump’s final day before death by suicide
• Damian Crump’s lengthy coronial inquest begins

AN AMBULANCE Tasmania boss has responded to a slew of allegations directed at the agency this week, denying claims the organisation is homophobic and bullies staff who dare to speak up.

But regional manager Craig Westlake, giving evidence at an inquest into the death of paramedic Damian Crump, also admitted sections of the workplace had been “toxic” and that staff were overburdened, working “crisis-to-crisis”.

This week’s inquest before Olivia McTaggart has canvassed a number of disturbing claims about the agency from former and current paramedics.

One employee said she’d been the subject of a “rape plan” joke by her colleagues, while another former paramedic discussed the seemingly lax use of drugs at work, including claims hungover staff were given drugs and bags of fluid.

Mr Westlake said at the time of Mr Crump’s death by suicide in December 2016, staff were overworked and had “insufficient resources to deliver the quantity of work that was required”.

“The paramedics were expressing frustration about their capacity to do their jobs,” he said.

He said sections of the organisation had been “toxic” but that these days, it was “a completely different environment”.

“The Ambulance Tasmania staff are highly professional, always looking out for each other, but have the same level of frustration with any workplace that I’ve worked in,” he said.

Mr Westlake also expressed the belief that a lack of drug store security wasn’t to blame for Mr Crump’s death.

He also disagreed with claims that staff who complained had a “target put on their back” by managers and that employees who lodged workers’ compensation claims were bullied.

“That is absolutely not my observation,” he said.

Mr Westlake acknowledged concerns about a metaphorical “bus” that managed staff out of the workplace if they spoke out or didn’t “toe the line”.

“There is no bus. If there was one, it doesn’t exist anymore,” he said.

He also denied Ambulance Tasmania was homophobic.

“I would say absolutely the opposite. Ambulance Tasmania promotes, for instance, a station in the pride march. We have managers who are openly gay, we have a reasonable percentage of our workforce that I work with are gay, and I have never experienced as a culture for that to be a problem,” he said.

He also refuted claims the agency was run by “white, male, heterosexual” people, noting that despite slow attrition, Ambulance Tasmania now had a “full diversity” of staff.

Also on Friday, statewide services manager Michael McDermott – who undertook an audit of medication management after Mr Crump’s death – said the agency was still under-resourced, “significantly understaffed and significantly overworked”.

The inquest continues Monday.

Ambulance Tas ‘gave drugs to hungover staff’

Hungover paramedics were given a bag of fluids and drugs when they turned up at work the next day at Ambulance Tasmania, a former employee claims.

The woman, giving evidence at the inquest into the death of Damian Crump, also claimed she was once freely given drugs to take home and euthanise some pet bunnies.

The claims are the latest in a series of disturbing allegations about Ambulance Tasmania to come out of this week’s inquest before Coroner Olivia McTaggart.

A number of current and former paramedics connected to Mr Crump, who died by suicide after accessing the agency’s drug stores in December 2016, have made claims revealing a shocking lack of medication security, an absence of staff mental health care and a toxic workplace culture.

On Thursday, the woman told the inquest that medication access tightened up slightly about five years ago after an incident in the north with an introduction of a drug register.

Tasmania Ambulance paramedic Damian Crump took his own life. Picture: Facebook

Damian's mother Alanah Crump speaking out the front of Hobart Magistrates Court earlier this week. Picture: Eddie Safarik

“But there still would have been ways for people to access things if they wanted to,” she said.

She added when the cameras weren’t working, “you could have gone in and taken whatever you wanted”, and that staff regularly signed on behalf of other employees.

The former on-road paramedic said she went on stress leave from the organisation after being falsely accused of stealing drugs.

“It ruined my life,” she said.

“They tried to coerce me to admit it when I hadn’t (done it).”

The woman also commented about “the bus” – a management strategy apparently used by Ambulance Tasmania to get rid of difficult employees.

The same “metaphorical bus” had been mentioned on Wednesday by another paramedic, who also told the inquest she’d been the butt of a “rape plan” joke by her colleagues.

The woman said “the bus” involved bullying and harassment of staff who “don’t do what management wants them to do”.

“You get the silent treatment, you get put on the bus, the naughty bus. People who don’t toe the line or go against what Ambulance Tas wants you to do, if you speak up against anything that’s wrong, you’re immediately put on the naughty bus and usually once you’re on there’s no getting off,” the woman said.

Damian Crump.

“It was freely spoken about.”

She also said anyone requesting leave after workplace pressure or traumatic call-outs was “considered weak and unable to do your job”.’

“You’re just carrying on, making drama, being a princess and if you can’t handle it you shouldn’t be there,” she said.

“We’d say nah we’re right because we didn’t want to say we weren’t.

“Ambulance Tasmania’s not just not supportive of you, they make things a lot worse. They make things so bad that you want to leave.”

The woman’s identity has been prohibited from publication.

The inquest continues.

Rape threats reported to police

By David Killick

CLAIMS of rape threats made by Ambulance Tasmania staff against a colleague have been referred to police, Health Minister Sarah Courtney says.

All appropriate steps would be taken to investigate and to fix cultural problems within the state’s ambulance service revealed during a coronial inquest, she said.

“I want to make abundantly clear that any allegation about inappropriate behaviour or misconduct is taken incredibly seriously. It is not acceptable in any workplace. Sexual harassment, threats of violence or sexual violence are unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” she said.

Health Minister Sarah Courtney. Picture: Zak Simmonds

“I have spoken with the secretary of the department, who has assured me she has contacted all departmental staff to reiterate this message and to provide information on support available.

“This includes advice on existing actions and reporting procedures in place to deal with such situations as well as advice to anyone who feels that a matter is criminal in nature to report it police.

“As to the historical allegations raised yesterday in the coroner’s inquiry as reported in the media, I am advised they were raised with the secretary of the Department of Health earlier this week, and she immediately commenced an examination of the documentation from that time to identify the actions undertaken at that time and what subsequent actions have been and may be needed to be taken in this case.

“Further, I can advise the Department of Health has referred the historical allegation to Tasmania Police.”

Ms Courtney told parliament managers would be required to undertake further refresher training in the coming months on the appropriate handling and investigation of sexual abuse and all harassment complaints, and the importance of having respect in the workplace.

INQUEST DAY THREE: DISTURBING details about Ambulance Tasmania’s apparent toxic workplace culture have been revealed at an inquest, with one paramedic describing how she was made the butt of a “rape plan” joke.

The woman, giving evidence at day three of the inquest into fellow paramedic Damian Crump’s death, said she became aware of a “big joke” about her having her drink spiked with Rohypnol before being put in a van, tied up “spread eagle” and assaulted.

Paramedic Damian Crump.

She wept as she told Coroner Olivia McTaggart about the “rape plan” and how a manager dissuaded her from taking it further as they couldn’t “guarantee how that will affect your career”.

The woman said “Crumpy” watched what happened to her and became “disillusioned”, especially after seeing how mental health and trauma were managed.

“No-one ever asked if I was okay, nothing ever happened to change the culture,” she said.

“He would talk about how wrong it was, how frustrating it was.

“He would say speaking up would not end well for you.”

The woman said she was aware of Mr Crump’s suicide plan – which he kept on his phone and ultimately carried out in December 2016 after accessing the agency’s drug stores – but that it wasn’t unusual to hear about similar plans in the workplace.

“Honestly, I could give you 20 suicide plans that people have discussed at work,” she said.

“I know there’s at least three people at the moment, when we’ve been on shift together and discussed what the perfect suicide plan might be … I know of three at the moment that are really struggling.

The woman said she was aware Mr Crump’s job was impacting him negatively and that he’d been accessing a powerful sedative that he referred to as “the milky dream”.

“It was the same drug that Michael Jackson used,” she said.

“You wouldn’t (buy it), you would have had to illegally sourced it.

“I questioned him about it and asked where he was getting it from … I knew he was really uncomfortable that I might start making a fuss about it.”

The woman also said Mr Crump felt he needed to keep his sexuality a secret from his workplace.

She said decisions were made randomly at the agency about staff – not on merit but by opinion, and said management and security of Ambulance Tasmania’s drug stores were “lackadaisical”.

The woman also said workers were “put on the bus” – managed out of the workplace – if they were “being difficult” or did “anything that caused them any extra work or grief”.

The inquest continues.

Follow @ambervwilson