A free ride !

Those needing an ambulance today are the lucky people - they get to ride for free !
The Ambulance service is on strike. They will still respond to 000 emergency calls and they will provide their full service in life threatening emergencies - but what they will not do is fill in paperwork that allows the state government to bill their customers.
Our paramedics are fed up with a hospital service that is unable to clear emergency patients and leaves them languishing in ambulances - and under the care of ambulance crews - for hours because of bed shortages.
They are fed up with work loads that see trainees thrust into decision making roles simply because there are no senior people to supervise their work. Morale is at such a low ebb that resignations are seeing an out flow faster than recruits can be trained as replacements.
And now - of all times - the state government is trying to implement a reduction in penalty rates that will result in a ten percent reduction in take home pay - or over $ 80 a week.
Paramedics are under constant pressure to improve their qualifications and the training to do that is conducted in their own time - and at their own expense. They are the first line of defence when a medical emergency arises.
The ambulance delivers trained people to asses the medical needs and provide care on the way to hospital - and yet those paramedics earn forty percent less than a hospital nurse.
Ambulance crews - along with police and firemen - are the essential services that can not simply walk off the job like employees in other industries. They adhere to their moral obligations to provide life saving skills - but this tactic is going to hit their employer - the state government - where it hurts most. As long as this strike lasts it will put a mighty dent in the bottom line of government revenue.
That is one sure way to get the government to sit up and take notice !