www.monaropost.com.au WEDNESDAY November 28, 2012
Volume 6 Edition 67 ISSN 1834-0318
NOW ONLY $1.30 INC GST
Local blokes don’t like new roster Local paramedics with the NSW Ambulance Service have given changes to the state rostering system the thumbs down, calling them inflexible and a ‘fail’ for the ASNSW. In an attempt to reduce fatigue the ASNSW promised the new roster would be the answer, but unfortunately the men and women in the field believe it will put the workers and the public at risk. Local Paramedics at Cooma articulated very clearly that the new rosters were inherently inflexible. Where the previous rosters provided additional day shift coverage, which would have allowed paramedics to rest and recover, under the new rosters decreased day shifts mean that the crew are forced to work until breaking point. They sayd this is a dangerous situation for the paramedics and the communities they serve. Changes in rosters result in the decreased availability of vehicles during peak times, it also comprises the ability
of the paramedics to support understaffed or smaller stations. The weekend the new system was introduced, ASNSW needed to use additional overtime shifts, staff from another region and the utilisation of Ambulance Managers into roles of operational paramedics in an attempt to fulfil their obligations of the new rosters. “The only positive that has come from the introduction of the new rosters was that it completely validated the Local Paramedics concerns. It is now very clear that the Local Paramedics certainly understand rostering issues much better than the Senior Managers introduced those changes” Health Service Union secretary, South Eastern Branch, Mick Grayson, said. Local paramedics Phil Brown and Mick Couvee (left) have voiced their concerns about the statewide changes to the roster introduced by Ambulance Services NSW.
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