Paramedic abuse reignites questions about Rochester station and single-paramedic crews

Ambulance Employees Australia’s Victoria branch reported a female paramedic was called in from Bendigo to cover a shift at Rochester last Thursday.

Rochester typically operates under a system in which crews consist of a paramedic and a volunteer ambulance community officer, but on the night in question no community officers were available.

Shortly after midnight, the paramedic was called to a medical emergency and found herself subject to abuse from the patient’s family while she was administering treatment.

The union reported it took 12 minutes for the back-up paramedics to arrive and police responded because of the abuse.

Ambulance Victoria’s Loddon Mallee regional director Andy Roughton confirmed the organisation was aware of a recent incident at Rochester and was offering the paramedic support.

“We always make every effort to ensure ambulances are fully crewed,” Mr Roughton said.

“However, on occasions, paramedics may respond alone when there is no one immediately available to cover short notice absence and they are always backed by another crew.”

Ambulance union assistant secretary Olga Bartasek said the paramedic was shaken by the incident and had taken time off work due to the stress.

“She is an experienced paramedic who has responded on her own before but this case left her with a loss of confidence and fear for her safety,” Ms Bartasek said.

Related: Rochester Ambulance service petition tabled in parliament

Mr Roughton said there were well-understood safety procedures in place for paramedics, especially those working alone.

But he said there was no increase in the number of such incidents seen by single-responder units across Victoria.

The union is lobbying the state government to convert all 51 stations operating as Rochester does to two-officer crews.

Ms Bartasek said there had been 18 single-responder cases in Rochester alone in eight weeks.

She said ambulance community officers did a “fantastic job”, but questioned why they were not used for less critical cases instead.

Rochester station temporarily ran two-paramedic crews from September last year to May.

Read more: Paramedic trial made ‘no material difference’ in response times

Mr Roughton said the arrangement had made “no material difference” in response times.

But the union has questioned this, saying the use of community officers delays call-outs.

Members of the Rochester community have also called for the return of two-paramedic crews, and earlier this month, Murray Plains MP Peter Walsh tabled to parliament a petition calling for a government review into arrangements in the town.

“The resources at Rochester are based on workload and demand, and these are continually reviewed as this changes over time,” Mr Roughton said.

A spokesperson for Ambulance Services Minister Jill Hennessy said paramedic placement was a matter for Ambulance Victoria, but community officers underwent the “highest standard of training”.

“It’s never okay to attack or injure the paramedics who go to work to protect us,” the spokesperson said.

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