Paramedics warn of burnout and trauma as ambulance wait times exceed 'worst case scenario'

While there were some positives, most Ambulance Tasmania staff reported having a tough time. (ABC News: James Dunlevie) Average wait times for ambulances in Tasmania have exceeded worst-case scenario projections made, despite extra resourcing. A survey of staff reports employees are "feeling unsupported, overworked, and undervalued", with 89 respondents saying they'd been bullied by a colleague and 82 saying they'd been targeted by a manager or supervisor. Ambulance Tasmania on Friday agreed to a wage agreement which the government says will "strengthen conditions for the workforce". Link copiedShareShare articleTasmanian paramedics experience "bullying", "toxicity" and "significant fatigue", according to a survey, as wait times for an ambulance to arrive exceed worst-case scenario projections. New data has revealed Tasmania's ambulance response times are continuing to trend upward, echoing a nationwide pattern. The average time between a patient dialling Triple Zero and an ambulance arriving at their door now sits at 15 minutes and 30 seconds. That is 42 seconds longer than what an independent report in 2023 forecast as being the worst-case scenario if resourcing didn't increase. Jan Pur says paramedic staff bear the brunt of people's frustrations over wait times for an ambulance. (ABC News: Adam Holmes) Jan Pur has been a paramedic with Ambulance Tasmania for 16 years and said staff shortages are causing rising ambulance wait times. "We're going from job to job and we know there is a job waiting for us while we're looking after the patient on the ramp," Mr Pur said. Mr Pur said people were waiting hours for an ambulance and "that then reflects on us". "It increases our stress, our pressure." Ramping is when a patient must remain in the care of ambulance staff because there is no room at the hospital. (ABC News: Maren Preuss) Amid increasing wait times and pay negotiations, the culture at Ambulance Tasmania has been an ongoing issue. Health groups fear the impact of hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts expected to be found in the Health Department In 2022, the death of an Ambulance Tasmania worker revealed a plethora of issues in the organisation, including supervisors who were overtasked and consequently unable to support the mental health of their colleagues. In Parliament last week, 2024/25 survey results from Ambulance Tasmania — obtained by independent MP David O'Byrne — revealed 17 per cent had a strong desire to leave. While the majority of staff said they had never experienced workplace bullying, 75 staff said they experienced it "once in a while". Of those who had experienced workplace bullying at some stage, the majority (115) said they had been bullied by a colleague at Ambulance Tasmania. Since the previous in 2024, employee confidence in the Ambulance Tasmania executive has dropped 20 per cent, and respondents reported a 19 per cent decrease in feeling motivated by the "vision" of Ambulance Tasmania. Eleven per cent of survey respondents said they believed Ambulance Tasmania "does something" about a staff member "not delivering in their role". A summary in the report states Ambulance Tasmania employees are "dissatisfied with the organisation's culture, management, and work-life balance". There were positive results in the survey. Eighty-one per cent of respondents said they knew where to access wellbeing resources at work, 76 per cent said they knew where to raise concerns about their own, or colleagues' wellbeing, and almost 70 per cent said they felt comfortable reporting safety concerns. David O'Byrne says the survey results were "potentially disastrous, given our frontline health services are already under significant strain". (ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke) Mr Pur said he wasn't surprised by the numbers. Health and Community Services Union Assistant state secretary Tammy Munro believed Ambulance Tasmania staff were being "psychologically injured". "We've got workers that are understaffed, they've got burnout, they are bullied and pressured to do double shifts or even triple shifts and we're actually injuring our first responders," Ms Munro said. Bridget Archer says "since we came to government, we've almost doubled the number of Tasmanian ambulance operatives". (ABC News: Jonny McNee) Health Minister Bridget Archer said Ambulance Tasmania was committed to improving workplace culture. "The Ambulance Tasmania cultural improvement action plan is … being implemented, with 59 items complete and 14 in progress," she said. "Overwhelmingly, respondents reported knowing where to access wellbeing support for themselves and for others, and confidence in reporting safety concerns or hazards." Ambulance Tasmania responded to nearly 70,000 call-outs with an average state-wide emergency response time of 14.9 minutes, 2024/25 data shows. (Facebook: Ambulance Tasmania) Department of Health secretary Dale Webster told parliament last week that some things the department ha

Paramedics warn of burnout and trauma as ambulance wait times exceed 'worst case scenario'

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