2 in 3 Paramedics want to or are considering leaving the profession. 6 in 10 emergency patients aren't getting an ambulance soon enough.We Deserve Better is Paramedics' campaign to demand real, substantive action on the emergency healthcare crisis. Union members are standing up and demanding that their safety, and their patients safety, is put first.
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Sign our petition to support Paramedics and fix out broken healthcare system!
Tragically, our members have reported that patients are dying and experiencing adverse clinical outcomes due to bed block and worsening response times. Every minute of every day, people in NSW are being put at risk by our underfunded emergency healthcare system. This is felt acutely in regional NSW, where our ‘hub and spoke’ model has ripped valuable resources out of rural and remote communities. We need your help to make sure patient and Paramedic wellbeing is a priority of any incoming government in 2023.
To provide advanced clinical care and help avoid unnecessary patient transports.
To improve patient outcomes and reduce the burden on emergency services.
To fairly value staff and keep us in the job—plus an end to the wage cap.
To keep ambulances free for emergency responses.
Real action to improve resourcing and training. Funding for more PTOs
To better manage calls and ensure patients get the most appropriate care.
So far, the NSW Government has announced a massive increase to our staffing levels, with funding for an additional 2128 Paramedics and support staff positions , as well as 30 new Paramedic stations.
This is a good step, but we need to be clear: without systemic, statewide reform, more Paramedics will simply mean more crews in bed block. And in a short decade or so, we will be right back to where we are today, with critical staffing shortages and a failing healthcare system.
We're calling for six simple actions that will make a real and lasting difference to the pressures on our healthcare system, the experience of frontline staff, and the quality of care patients receive.
These actions will improve healthcare for everyone in NSW, not just those in metropolitan and peri-urban areas. While the Government originally committed to allocating 40% of new positions to regional areas, there is almost zero dedicated funding from this announcement for more Paramedics beyond Newcastle and Wollongong. We think everyone in NSW deserves better care.
