The Nurses' and Midwives' Association is hitting back at claims the 30-year relationship between the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service and the Hunter Retrieval Service at the John Hunter Hospital is putting lives at risk.
The Health Services Union (HSU) believes it takes too long to pick up the medical team from the John Hunter Hospital and then fly to the mission.
Fairfax reported in late December that the Belmont-based Westpac Rescue Helicopter couldn't fly several emergencies because of the arrangement which delayed response times.
The Nurses' and Midwives' Association (NMA) has hit back at these claims calling them a gross exaggeration. The HSU also labelled the patients transferred between hospitals as "minor transfers" which the NMA says is also untrue.
"These are some of the sickest and most unstable patients in the hospital system," said John Hunter Hospital NMA Branch Secretary Clare Bolton.
NSW is unique in that it doesn't follow other states who allow specialised paramedics to perform patient transfers as secondary missions. In NSW only critical care nurses are allowed to perform patient transfers for the Hunter rescue helicopter.
"The only time the intensive care retrieval service is dispatched is when they actually need ongoing complex monitoring and treatment during their transfer," Clare Bolton said.
Patients being transferred often need specialist medical care for the journey and are frequently transferred to the John Hunter because they've been referred to their specialist medical services.
Clare Bolton said, "a paramedic it's not a part of their skillset, it would take an awful lot of training, months of training, for them to actually understand what the needs of the patient are and what those machines and drugs are doing to be able to manage them effectively,"
"So if it's a paramedic doctor team transferring the patient with those therapies going on, the doctor can do all of the interpreting of the data and make the decisions what to do and tell the paramedic exactly what he has to adjust and how."
There's a 10-year contract in operation which includes picking up a doctor/nurse team from the John Hunter at a $600 cost per patient.
"And if there's a clash, if the helicopter is on the pad at Belmont and the secondary team request it, but there is already a primary pending, the primary will always win out. The secondary team will always have to make other arrangements or delay their job if that's feasible for the patient," said Clare Bolton.
"The retrieval nurse will have a conference with the pilot about what the case is, where it is and the time is determined for when the team, the helicopter and the team, will meet on the pad at John Hunter. Those teams can be on the team within 20 minutes of finishing that phone call."
The urgency of the transfer determines the time taken for the mission, and primary missions are always given priority.
Clare Bolton believes the claims of extra cost and time from the HSU are "absurd". The patients are often from hospitals north meaning the John Hunter is on the way.
"A slight delay, slightly more cost to make sure you're getting the best available team to look after that patient while they're in a high-risk environment outside the supports of the hospital, really is very very minimal. The skills that you're taking to the patient really are the most significant thing, really vital to get the right people there at the right time."
