The new Bombala Ambulance Station was opened on Friday 20 June 2008 under dark skies and typical mountain weather.

The history of ambulance in Bombala goes back to 1945 when the first public committee formed. Tony Garnock was at this meeting and was the first honorary secretary of the Bombala Branch. Tony is a life member of the Ambulance Service of NSW. He was present at the opening as our guest of honour and is a proud and dedicated member of the Bombala community.

Master of Ceremonies Brian White, Assistant Divisional Manager, introduced Steve Whan, Member for Monaro, who officially opened the multi purpose services building on behalf of Reba Meagher, NSW Minister for Health. Steve thanked Bombala paramedics for their commitment to their work and the community they serve.

The Mayor of Bombala, Robert Stewart, thanked the Bombala paramedics for their dedication and professionalism and the extended hours they worked which covers an area of over 5,000 square kilometres. Michael Landsbergen, General Manager Corporate Services, responded on behalf of Greg Rochford, Chief Executive, and thanked Ambulance’s Southern Division, the Bombala community and local paramedics for their dedication to the project.

The co-location of the ambulance station within the Bombala Health Service has been a result of collaboration between Ambulance and the other parties over the past five years. It builds on an existing close working relationship in Bombala between the health staff and local paramedics.

Photograph: Left to Right: Bombala Paramedics Nathan Roberts, Paul Beard, Mathew Donaldson and SO Kim Tonkin were joined by Assistant Divisional Manager, Brian White and District Officer, Phil Brotherton for a group photograph.. >Back to top

The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) recommended that the Ambulance Service of NSW change its revenue and charging structures over a three year period commencing 1 July 2006. This year is the last year of the IPART fee increases

From 1 July 2008 residents of NSW and any other Australian state or territory that is party to a reciprocal arrangement will be charged at the rate of 51% of the actual cost of the provision of primary emergency ambulance services.

The Ambulance Service of NSW now recovers 100% of the cost of ambulance services provided to residents of states that do not have a reciprocal arrangement with NSW.

The Ambulance Service of NSW is one of the most highly subsidised ambulance services in Australia. In the new financial year 2008/ 09 the State Government has provided $340.5 million in taxpayer funding to the Ambulance Service. This is an increase of $24.2 million in funding from the 2007/08 budget.

NEW FEES
From 1 July 2008, NSW residents requiring road or helicopter emergency ambulance transport within NSW will be required to pay a $290 callout fee, plus an additional charge of $2.62 per kilometre or part thereof. There are no changes to existing exemptions from ambulance transport fees – pensioners, health care card holders and veterans with an accepted war related injury continue to remain exempt from fees.
> More information on Ambulance transport fees and frequently asked questions.
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Terrigal Paramedic Frances Willmott visited Terrigal Public School’s morning assembly to congratulate a special young girl in front of her peers and teachers. With maturity beyond her years, nine year old Amba was recognised by Ambulance as a hero and presented her with a Triple Zero Star award for calling triple zero when a real medical emergency was occurring in her family home.

Just before the Easter school holidays in the wee hours of the morning, Amba called triple zero and spoke to Northern Operations Centre call taker Richard Hay after her mum collapsed in the living room and suddenly felt ill. Richard stayed on the phone with Amba and it became apparent that Amba’s mum was very unwell. Richard talked Amba through what to do to help her mum while Amba gave excellent directions to her house and what had occurred that evening.

Unlike many callers who are facing a potentially life threatening and stressful situation, Amba kept calm on the phone while an ambulance was urgently rushing to the family home. Terrigal paramedics Frances Willmott and Andrew Johnson were first at the address backed up by the Bateau Bay crew of Benjamin Wightman and Greg Allen. Amba met them at the door explaining her mum’s medical history and gathered all the appropriate belongings needed for hospital.

Amba’s mum spent nearly four weeks in hospital recovering and was able to witness the presentation at school. It was an emotional presentation as little Amba was recognised for calling for assistance which ultimately saved her mum’s life.

Ambulance has recently rolled out a school education program called  “Be an Ambulance Hero – Dial Zero, Zero, Zero of which Terrigal Public School has participated. The program, aimed at young children, hopes to equip them with simple decision making skills, increase awareness of the difference between a little accident and a big accident, including how to identify an unconscious person, how to call an ambulance in an emergency and answer questions from the ambulance call taker.

For information designed for children on calling an ambulance visit the Ambulance website. If anyone knows of a situation where a child has had to call Triple Zero (000) for an ambulance we would love to hear your story and perhaps nominate the child for a Star Award. Contact the Manager, Community Relations by email: community@ambulance.nsw.gov.au or tel: 9320 7795.

Photograph: Amba with Paramedic Frances Willmott. >Back to top

From 15 to 21 September 2008, is National Stroke Week and along with the National Stroke Foundation, Ambulance would like to remind the community of the importance of recognising the early warning signs of a stroke.

Stroke is Australia’s second single greatest killer and leading cause of disability with someone suffering a stroke every ten minutes. Recognising the signs of stroke and calling Triple Zero (000) immediately can be the difference between death, severe disability and making a good recovery.

The FAST test involves asking three simple questions:
> Face - can the person smile, is their mouth drooped?
> Arms - can the person raise both arms?
> Speech - Can the person spaek clearly and understand what you said?
Time is important so act FAST and call Triple Zero (000) immediately and ask for Ambulance.

Ambulance recommends that all persons undertake a first aid course with an accredited agency. For more information or to order a FAST wallet reminder card visit www.strokefoundation.com.au or call the National Stroke Foundation on 1800 787 653.
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Fairfield Paramedic Rick Newman, his wife Natalie and daughter Emily appeared in the first edition on a new Channel Nine show “Domestic Blitz “ that is designed to bring some well-earned joy to the lives of true Australian heroes and make their dreams come true.

Ambulance recommended the Newman family to the new Channel Nine show after hearing about the plight of Rick’s wife Natalie. Natalie, a police officer is currently fighting an aggressive form of ovarian cancer. Despite this she is determined to enjoy her family life in their home.

The new garden and home renovation was unveiled in front of Rick and Natalie’s ambulance and police colleagues and a large crowd of family, friends and onlookers.

Rick, Natalie and Emily, we hope you enjoy your new home and garden and Ambulance wishes you all the best.

Photograph: The Newman family, Natalie, Emily and Rick.
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Campbelltown Lions Club is a terrific supporter of the local community. They have recently purchased a trained dog for a person with impaired hearing, a walker for a child with severe cerebral palsy and published a Diabetes awareness pamphlet which clearly outlines the pathophysiology of the disease as well as specialist local resources.

Members of Campbelltown Lions Club approached Ambulance wishing to contribute funds to purchase a portable radio.

The Lions Club hosted a dinner earlier this month and presented Acting Station Officers David Kynaston with a cheque for $3,122.

The staff at Campbelltown Ambulance Station thanks the Lions Club for the generous donation.

Photograph: Acting SO Jenny Potter (right) with representatives from Campbelltown Lions Club.
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An anonymous hoax caller has cost Ambulance as much as $10,000 after claiming a minibus carrying eight people had rolled on a mountain road.

Two southern NSW towns, Batemans Bay and Moruya, had their ambulance coverage depleted on Thursday 24 July 2008 as Ambulance dispatched three vehicles to the Kings Highway on Clyde Mountain, inland from Batemans Bay. Two Ambulance helicopters, from Wollongong and Canberra, were also dispatched to the scene at great expense.

The caller rang Triple Zero and spoke to an ambulance operator at 9.17am, claiming a minivan had rolled with another car also involved. The road ambulance crews arrived and drove up and down the road looking for a sign of the accident before meeting up and calling the operations centre, asking for the caller to be contacted again. At that point, the caller was unable to be contacted and the original call was replayed. A supervisor recognised the voice or the number as coming from a previous hoax caller. The helicopters, still on their way, were told to turn back.

The spokesman said the total costs to send three ambulance units and two helicopters, with a total of 14 personnel, could be about $10,000.

"Just to get a helicopter off the ground we’re talking a few thousand dollars," the spokesman said.

Article courtesy of Kara Lawrence from the Daily Telegraph.
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An inquiry into the management and operations of the NSW Ambulance Service is currently underway. Ambulance welcomes the opportunity to participate in any process that aims to improve both the service to our patients and the working conditions of our employees.

During the public hearing for the Parliamentary Inquiry into the Ambulance Service there were a number of sensational media reports together and a high profile industrial campaign. Not all of these reports provided accurate information and the following is provided.

Ambulance has 3,700 staff making it the largest ambulance service in Australia. Importantly 89.7 per cent of staff are in front-line service delivery roles which is a greater proportion of staff than comparative Australian services.

Our attrition rates for paramedics continue to be low averaging 4.5 per cent over the last eight years. This is compared against the Australian workforce of 15 per cent. We are always willing to employ more staff to meet the demands of the NSW population. In response to the Industrial Wage Case which is currently underway with the NSW paramedics union, Ambulance committed to employ more paramedics as well as boost our non-emergency transport arm which will also assist in leaving up our highly trained and skilled paramedics free to respond to medical emergencies.

Violence against our staff in any form is taken very seriously. We have policies and procedures in place for managing bullying and harassment related claims and grievances. This is also supported by our staff Code of Conduct. However it is clear we have more work to do. The Executive of Ambulance is committed to ensuring that this situation is fixed. Any failure to treat colleagues without respect, dignity or compassion is completely unacceptable.

Sadly over 2,000 Australians die from suicide every year. Some estimates suggest that around one in four people know someone who took their own life. A variety of factors may contribute to an individual's decision to end their life. Suicide in Ambulance, while quite rare, has a significant affect on surviving colleagues and family. Our efforts are focussed on identifying at risk staff and supporting staff affected by suicide in all cases.

We acknowledge that there is always room for improvement. When it comes to healthy workplace behaviours and bullying and harassment no organisation can afford to be complacent. The recent review and Parliamentary Inquiry provide and excellent opportunity to review our current procedures and renew our support and training systems for staff and in turn, to continue our quest to constantly improve the quality and reliability of our services to patients.

The Parliamentary Inquiry has finished taking evidence and submissions are now closed. The date for release of the Inquiry report is not known at this stage. > Link to the Legislative Council Inquiry into Ambulance
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