Ms O’CONNOR – Minister, I want to ask you about a coronial report into the tragic death of Ambulance Tasmania paramedic Damian Crump at the age of 36 in 2016. The coroner’s findings were handed down in the middle of last year. There were 13 recommendations in all. Are you able to tell the committee how many of those have been accepted by government, and if any weren’t accepted, can you tell us which ones? Of those that were accepted, how many have been completed and which ones? How many have work underway.
Mr BARNETT – Thank you very much. Of course, I again express my sadness and condolences to the Crump family. In terms of the detail with respect to the report and recommendations from the coroner, I pass to the CEO to respond.
Mr EMERY – Thank you, minister, and through you, I too acknowledge the tragic death of Damian Crump, a paramedic and colleague of a number of Ambulance Tasmania employees. The coroner did in fact hand down their findings as you said, Ms O’Connor, in July of last year. We have undertaken a significant body of work in the lead‑up to that time, as well as ongoing, to address a number of those recommendations.
In particular, there was a significant number of recommendations about span of control, and you would be aware that in February 2023, the government committed to the permanent funding of 97 COVID positions which allowed us to improve our managerial support, something that had not been present overnight hours in 2016 when Mr Crump tragically took his life. Similarly, we have done an enormous amount of work with the Department of Police, Fire and Emergency Management through our shared Wellbeing Support Program.
Last year alone, we provided 144 episodes of support to our paramedics and volunteers who were providing this service. We really think that is a testament to the improvement in mental health literacy, the willingness to engage in mental health services that we need to provide to our people, who so regularly spend their time caring for others. There is work to continue to do as it relates to mandatory drug and alcohol testing, and there is work to do as it relates to the coroner’s recommendations about mandatory psychological assessments.
Whilst I acknowledge with great respect the findings of the coroner, there is some conflicting evidence about the appropriateness of mandating psychological assessments and the negative impact that can have on individuals. What we have sought to do is work very closely with the Council of Ambulance Authorities, the peak body representing all jurisdictional ambulance services, to explore ways we might be able to implement random drug and alcohol testing and to explore other mental health support that we might not currently capture through our wellbeing support program.
Ms O’CONNOR – Thank you so much for that answer. In terms of the 13 recommendations – and this is sort of a numbers question – how many were accepted, how many have been completed, and how many are a work in progress? Is that something that you want to put on notice?
Mr BARNETT – No, please, CEO?
Mr EMERY – Thank you, minister. I would have to look at the 13 recommendations, Ms O’Connor, if I could. Certainly a significant amount of the recommendations were around our medication governance.
Ms O’CONNOR – This is what I want to talk to you about.
Mr EMERY – In 2022, as the executive director of operations, I led a significant infrastructure reform program to roll out brand new medication safes in every single ambulance station where scheduled medications are held. Those medication safes require every paramedic to individually login. Similarly, we rolled out 24/7 closed circuit television cameras on every single medication safe in our state. Furthermore, just last year, we rolled out the Ambulance Tasmania Online Medication System, which replaced paper-based medication records which were notoriously difficult to audit, especially across 57 ambulance stations. The online auditing system significantly improves our capacity to audit medication use. I should say the emphasis, the guiding light, for me around this work is not around prevention of diversion, though that is clearly important. It’s about keeping our ambos safe who work in very challenging circumstances.
Ms O’CONNOR – Thank you, Mr Emery. Can I just ask, following on from all of that work that you talked about then, which sounds positive, how many paramedics have received training related to their obligations relating to management, storage, safekeeping, handling and accountability of drugs held by Ambulance Tasmania? Is it an ongoing process of training Ambulance Tasmania staff? Through you, minister.
Mr BARNETT – Thank you very much.
Mr EMERY – Through you, minister, yes. Certainly as we rolled out the Ambulance Tasmania online medication system it was an opportunity for us to significantly reinforce the legislative obligations around the Poisons Act and the storage of medication. We’ve also been able to work through some of the challenges that existed with a volunteer workforce that aren’t necessarily prescribed but often in rural and remote locations that second or countersignature of a medication administration is important. We’ll continue to reinforce and support our staff in terms of their recording obligations as it relates to scheduled or restricted medications. It’s incredibly important for the safety of our people and for safe and quality patient care.
Ms O’CONNOR – Thank you.
