BY JESSICA ROUSE
The Health Service Union (HSU) is calling for words to be turned into action after a NSW parliamentary inquiry into the violence against paramedics across the state and throughout the Hunter.
There has been an incredible upsurge in incidents in the past year and the inquiry also comes after numerous violent incidents including two paramedics who were assaulted in Lake Macquarie while helping a woman who was going into labour.
The inquiry found 47 recommendations with the HSU suggesting some need to implemented urgently including paramedics not working along, extra security at hospitals including guards and CCT surveillance and new protocols introduced so when violent patients are left at hospitals by police there are enough security guards and resources to deal with them.
"The important issues for the government is to ensure that no paramedic responds on their own, and there is adequate support and backup from other crews to be able to assist and ensuing the communications are improved by doing away with the radio blackspots that they currently have," said NSW HSU Secretary Gerard Hayes.
The committee holding the inquiry was bi-partisan and with plenty of bipartisan support, the HSU hopes the measures will be put into action as fast as possible.
"Certainly senior representatives of the government are on this committee and so we would expect now that they would be taking that to their cabinet to ensure that what the HSU has been talking about for the past five years in relation to additional paramedics, additional security staff to make their job safer and to make the community safer is delivered onto the people of NSW," said Gerard Hayes.
