BACK TO BASICS FOR QLD AMBULANCE SERVICE

The Bligh Government will slash bureaucracy in the Queensland Ambulance Service and shed non-essential services to redirect $12 million in savings into boosting front-line staff, Premier Anna Bligh announced today.

The shake-up will provide more than 100 front-line ambulance officers on top of the 250 extra officers being recruited this financial year to keep pace with a huge increase in demand.

The Premier ordered a high-level audit in September over concerns that despite Queensland spending more per person on ambulance services than any other state, not enough of the record $404 million budget allocation was reaching the front line.

Ms Bligh said the audit found the QAS corporate support staff of 453 was double the number of the next highest state of New South Wales, which has the largest ambulance service in Australia.

It recommends Queensland cut back corporate services to be in line with the national average, meaning more than 100 staff would be retrained, redeployed or lost through natural attrition as the QAS concentrates its energy on meeting unprecedented demand.

“We need the QAS to get back to basics - less people at head office and more on the front line,” Ms Bligh said.

She said the audit had identified a variety of reasons why so many staff were employed in non-essential roles, which could be or are being provided by the private and community sectors.

“A public education campaign coupled with enforcement of fines of up to $3750 will be implemented to clamp down on “shocking” waste through hoax and nuisance calls,” Ms Bligh said.

“One in six 000 call-outs for emergencies don’t even result in a patient having to be taken to hospital,” she said

”Our paramedics are working their guts out and it’s plain to see why they are getting frustrated.

“Queenslanders have to realise that ambulances are a last-resort emergency transport. We call on the ambos 30% more than the national average and demand for emergency call-outs is increasing at six times the rate of population growth.

“Queensland already spends almost 20% more than the national average per person and we have more ambos per person than any other state.”

Since the introduction of the Community Ambulance Cover levy in 2003, QAS staffing has increased by 20%. However, the workload has gone up by 26% in that time.

Ms Bligh said the Government will adopt recommendations from the audit to re-focus the QAS on its ‘core business’, including:

·Demand reduction measures such as having nurses and paramedics at QAS call centres to prioritise emergency call-outs and an education campaign to cut down on hoax and nuisance 000 calls, running at the rate of 100 a week.

·Cut non-essential services and consider allowing the private sector to compete for non-critical patient transfers as they do elsewhere in Australia.

·Letting mobile paramedics treat some patients at home, rather than take them to hospital.

“For example, under the present system, paramedics in a fully-equipped ambulance can respond to an emergency call only to find out someone has a minor cut they are are quite capable of treating but they are often required to take them to hospital.

Ms Bligh said the Government had rejected the audit’s recommendations to either introduce part-payment fees or abolish the CAC and introduce a user-pays system

“Access to emergency services is a basic right and I will not see Queenslanders priced out of getting an ambulance,” she said.

Emergency Services Minister Neil Roberts said the department would consult staff, unions and the Queensland Local Ambulance Committee on how to secure the savings.

“There will be no forced redundancies in achieving these savings. Staff will be redeployed, retrained or lost through natural attrition,” Mr Roberts said.

He said $4.3 million would be redirected from non-essential services and $7.9 million of additional savings had been identified across the Emergency Services Department and QAS corporate areas.

“The savings will be secured through discretionary spending in areas such as supplies, service, travel and consultants as well as reductions in temporary, contracted and casual employment.”

“As Minister for Emergency Services, I am determined to ensure that we refocus the energies and resources of the QAS towards front-line service delivery,” Mr Roberts said.

Media: 3224 4500 (Premier’s office) or 3247 8194 (Minister Roberts’ office)