Indigenous recruits to bolster regional ambulance services

A new wave of indigenous paramedic cadets are entering communities across Queensland as part of a unique program to bolster regional ambulance services.

A total 17 recruits from the Queensland Ambulance Service’s Indigenous Paramedic Program have recently begun working in regional and rural areas from the Torres Strait to Bundaberg. 

Speaking on Close the Gap recognition week, Minister for Health and Ambulance Services Cameron Dick said the program was designed to improve health outcomes in indigenous communities and increase diversity in the QAS workforce. 

“These new recruits will strengthen service delivery in remote communities and provide specific pre-hospital care to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island communities with an aim to improve mortality rates,” he said.

“This is a one-of-a-kind program which is bridging the gap between indigenous and non-indigenous people by building a closer relationship and understanding between the QAS and the communities it serves.

“But most importantly, it also builds the self-confidence, leadership and teamwork skills of participants and develops their sense of place and worth within the community.”

Mr Dick said the program aligned with the Palaszczuk Government’s commitment to employ 75 extra ambulance officers statewide.

“Programs like this clearly demonstrate the Palaszczuk Government and QAS commitment to improving the education and employment of indigenous people where they can make a truly positive impact – in indigenous communities,” he said.

The program is funded by the Queensland Ambulance Service, which has a 2015-16 budget of $633.3 million – an increase of $44 million on the service’s previous budget.

QAS Commissioner Russell Bowles said the program recruited indigenous community members into formal education and paved the way for them to either become qualified paramedics or to pursue other QAS roles, such as Emergency Medical Dispatcher or Patient Transport Officer.

The Minister and Commissioner joined the recruits at a cardiopulmonary resuscitation demonstration today at Parliament House, which involved two ambulance recruits who began working in Ravenshoe last month.

“These new recruits will be a welcome addition for their colleagues in the Tableland, where the invaluable role of ambulance officers was thrust into the spotlight during last year’s tragic café explosion,” Commissioner Bowles said. 

“They will strengthen community engagement, bolster the QAS’s presence in Ravenshoe and the broader region and improve the delivery of services by contributing local knowledge and cultural understanding.”

The recruits will be stationed in:

• Cooktown (2 recruits)
• Ravenshoe (2 recruits)
• Cairns (2 recruits)
• Doomadgee (1 recruit)
• Mount Isa (2 recruits)
• Normanton (1 recruit)
• Palm Island (2 recruits)
• Thursday Island (1 recruit)
• Woorabinda (2 recruits)
• Bundaberg (1 recruit)
• Nambour (1 recruit)

ENDS

MEDIA CONTACT:             Anika Hume 0439 253 815