New South Wales will have an additional 1,850 paramedics and dozens more ambulance stations to help meet growing demand to address a “30-year deficit”.
Key points:
- The Health Services Union expects 800 new paramedics in its first year
- The 1,850 jobs will increase the state’s paramedic staff by 40 percent
- The funding package is expected to be worth about $ 2 billion
NSW Prime Minister Dominic Perrottet, Treasurer Matt Kean and Health Minister Brad Hazzard made the announcement today, with funding estimated at nearly $ 2 billion over the next four years, to be described in the state budget. of this month.
NSW Health Services Union Secretary Gerard Hayes said it was a historic victory for an overworked and tired workforce.
“It’s an incredible situation, unprecedented, after driving for years and the industrial action of paramedics,” he said.
“It will somehow relieve the pressure on paramedics, not only from a physical point of view at work, but also from a psychological point of view.”
Mr Hayes said there would be a 40 per cent increase in the workforce as a result of the changes.
“We are encouraging the state government as much as possible to advance implementation,” he said.
“So we expect 800 or more new paramedics in the first year.”
Perrottet said the budget is a “generational investment” as he says demand for health care is growing.
“This is a 30-year-old problem we can solve now. It ensures that not only us, but our children and their children receive the health care they need when they need it.
“Today we have people who want to be paramedics and we just don’t have room for them, so today we will send expressions of interest for people to join.”
The funding, which will total $ 1.76 billion over four years, will add 2,128 paramedics, ambulance support, nurses and doctors.
Hayes said the flu season, plus COVID-19 in recent years, had been disastrous for paramedics and the public.
“It’s been the perfect storm, which has affected staff and response times,” he said.
“This is a good response from the state government to a level of staffing and manpower that was really needed.”
Dozens of new ambulance stations are also planned to be built across the state.
There have been long delays in statewide ambulances, including regional cities and the central coast. (Supplied by: Australian Paramedics Association)
Opposition Leader Chris Minns praised the announcement and praised the Prime Minister for his “good decision” and ability to resolve issues with all parties involved.
However, he also said that it was only a first step in solving the problems of the statewide public health system.
“So even though the government has made an important announcement about paramedics, [patients] they still have to be treated by the emergency department, “he said.
“Otherwise, we will only have ambulances waiting in front of the emergency departments before they can be redistributed to the community.
“So this serves to solve what is a complicated issue. But obviously public health is a huge issue. Hopefully it will be big in the March state elections.”
NSW opposition health spokesman Ryan Park said the state had experienced its worst response times in more than a decade, with major problems west of Sydney, Wollongong and Newcastle.
“The space inside the hospitals just isn’t there,” he said.
“This is because the population has grown and the state government has not been able to keep up.”
Posted 5 hours 5 hours ago Saturday, June 4, 2022 at 11:02 PM, updated 31 hours, 31 minutes ago, Sunday, June 5, 2022 at 4:16 AM