SA Firefighter

It is now up to Paramedics Australasia to keep the momentum up and push for immediate introduction of National Registration and to formulate and recommend proper guidelines for event medical minimum requirements.  Public Safety finally high up on the agenda. This ensures health departments and insurers take notice. The PA media release is a good start.

The coroners findings into the death in WA (SJA at Big Day Out), the debacle in Victoria now exposed and the sub-standard levels of event medical in all States by unregulated providers (now becoming a cottage industry) is the perfect storm to get the PA reforms across the line.

PA, lobby hard and use this current public exposé to get national paramedic registration and other reforms across the line.   Politicians and Health Dept are now paying attention to this issue. Keep the heat on.

SA only requires a bill amending the Health Care Act to extend to Event Medical and Standby Services.   I doubt the board members of PA South Australia will be pushing too hard on this issue though. 

If an agenda is wanting to see Unregistered Health Providers finally regulated and compelled/required by law to comply with standards and operate transparently then I guess I have an agenda.

If wanting to see very obvious Conflicts of Interest dealt with in accordance with the policies and guidelines issued by SA Health then I guess I again have an agenda.  These issues have been bubbling away for some time and are already being widely discussed around a number of corridors (now even more so after the Victorian media exposing public safety issues and conflicts of interest).

If you find it boggling your mind then keep an eye on the Adelaide media and their uptake on the same issues and boggle away some more.

Conflict of Interest you say  :-o

One only needs to look at a few employees of a SA Health entity who operate a  business which appears to the average punter to be somewhat of an Ambulance type Service.

Will the new CEO of the aforementioned SA Health Entity be as tolerant of these potential conflicts of interest.

The SA Health policy on disclosing a conflict of interest 'and' the requirement of CEO's within SA Health to address and take appropriate steps to remove any possible conflicts of interest is clear.  Even "perceived conflicts of interest" fall into the policy and must be addressed/removed. 

Sba, an ICAC might be a bit much (I'm sure they have bigger issues on the list).

At best a good close look at the SA Health policy by the New CEO and an opinion from the Crown Solicitors Office wouldn't be a bad start just to make sure there isn't a problem that could arise down the track.

Looks like the providers delivering Paramedic, Event Medical and First Aid services who are not registered providers under the Health Care Act 2008 will fall into this new legislation, gazetted 14th March 2013.

"Unregistered Health Practitioners - Code of Practice".

http://www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/public+content/sa+health+internet/clinical+resources/safety+and+quality/governance+for+safety+and+quality+in+health+service+organisations/unregistered+health+practitioners+code+of+conduct

http://www.hcscc.sa.gov.au/documents//02_what's%20new/h_Plain%20English%20Version%20Code%20of%20Conduct.pdf

That's right ...  all of those first aid and event medical "PARAMEDICS" will have to display the code, have appropriate qualifications  :-o (displayed) and also have Professional Indemnity / Public Liability Insurance covering exactly the scope of services they intend to provide.

SA Health finally tightening up.

Paramedic Registration only deals with part of the issue.  This expanded approach appears to be covering the gaps.

About time.

Give up Kelly... Like every other post you hijack , trying to push a flawed argument, this one will also die off with everyone losing interest. 

You do not understand the ECP model and your constant referral to "first aid" is insulting and demonstrates your lack of insight.

You also sound to me like a right Ambulance spotter.!

Read the ECP fact sheet on SAAS website.

49.4% of ED presentations avoided and 5.3% of cases avoiding a hospital admission.

The cost savings are there,  the model is certainly effective and further expansion justified and everyone in the health system is happy (except you of course).

The ECP model fits perfectly in the Limestone Coast where it takes 3 days to see a GP and calling 000 for a ride to the ED is the easy option (and many think an entitlement after paying a whopping $76 per annul annum for  SAAS cover).  RDNS cannot deliver the service or provide the immediate response.  Emergency Crews do not need to respond to nursing homes for a UTI. Locum doctors and after-hours GP services are thin on the ground (despite huge federal govt grants) and SAAS is quite correctly plugging a gap and working smarter to reduce impact on emerg crews and resources.

SAAS don't have the luxury of saying no or sitting in the armchair poo pooing everyone else who has no solutions but plenty of opinions about how they should structure their important business and resources within a tight budget and ever increasing population demand.

Go push a different barrow.

Duh .... Cost of modifying with local company sewing 1 additional reflective 3M strip $50. Nah.. Let's  chuck it in the bin and spend $700 and order new whole new suit.

Approx 15,000 volunteer suits = $10.5m versus strip at $50 per suit ($750k). That's a lot of dosh that could be spent on new appliances.

Instead of turfing in the bin.. Why not send them over to Cambodia where fire crews have limited PPE (they can even keep the logo CFS Cambodian Fire Service :)

Or sell them to (or hand out free) to local farmers (sans logo) for use when protecting properties.

More waste!!!!! It makes me so happy to see my emergency services levies spent so wisely.

No chance of either getting into AV. . One doesn't have the capability or funds required. The latter you may find just purchased a mob called AMT (www.amtser.com.au) who work for private hospitals running Toyota hiaces with single PTS cert iii.   I've heard of one private hospital AMT contract where they charge $16 per transport between facilities !!!! (it is that cut throat amongst privates trying to get private marketshare .. why even bother)

NPT and GSL have well over 200 Ambulances between them. To put it in context SAAS has 234.

GSL (MTS) is owned by a global entity worth in the billions and I suspect have many friends in Federal and State government to support a further contract.

Unless SJA and RFDS can find 200 ambulances (circa $18m-$22m) and recruit a few hundred plus staff there is no point as the market there is already well serviced.

AV doesn't want to deal with multiple players or run risk of unsettling a stable system under the two large contractors. From all accounts the two contractors are working quite nicely and everything is cozy over in Vic.

Flametrees. I was playing the ball not the man.

The ball being the provider organisation (legal entity or ma n' pa self employed partnership).

The ball being appropriate licensing, holding out, professional indemnity and public liability insurance for medical services, ambulance equipment/specifications, vehicle ADR compliance,  qualifications/training, clinical governance, medical director oversight, controlled substances approvals and pharmacology guidelines and the list goes on.

Didn't play the man .. Although I did very much like the "medical advisor" label on the high vis vest. Unless that is a doctor pictured I would suggest that the general public could be left with an incorrect impression as to what that person is.

Fact remains that even the most skilled and qualified Paramedic is not covered to provide pre-hospital care and treatment if they are out working (self employed or otherwise) without the employing entity having in place all the clinical governance, systems and appropriate approvals.

So it looks like anyone with $1,500-$2000 to buy a 1980's Ford Ambulance can set up without an Ambulance licence or regulation. Who looks after clinical governance? Who authorises controlled substances (if they use any at all)? What level of professional indemnity insurance or qualifications are in place?

How did this Ford Ambulance gain SA registered plates (pictured) to allow it to be driven on road when the fitting of a red light that flashes is a breach of Road Traffic Act in SA and by virtue of fitting these lights automatically renders the vehicle as non-compliant with registration, Act and regs. (or were they fitted after registration?).

When is the government going to start addressing first aid & event providers "holding out" as something they are not. If it looks like an Ambulance then it darn well is an Ambulance and therefore needs to be treated as such including all the oversight and regulation.

Gillman Speedway is extremely high risk stuff.  Only a matter of time before the preverbial hits the fan. Unfortunately someone's kid is going to be the test subject.

Rumour is St Johns are moving away from the higher risk events due to whole of organisation risk. Could just be rumour (happy for SJA to correct that statement if not correct).

But what type of services are popping up?  bearing in mind event organisers want St Johns type rates (volunteer services small $$ charged). SAAS are correctly overpriced as part of cost recovery for having a professional Emerg service on standby.

If this provider pictured is licensed and ticks all the governance boxes then I will eat my hat (liabilty/indemnity insurance alone is more than the cost of the Ford Ambulance pictured).

Quote from: Baboon145 on February 23, 2012, 09:41:14 PM
As I'm new to this site I'll try not to ruffle to many feathers in one go. Tell me boys and girls. When your time ends in the ambulance service where will you go?
What are your quolls worth in the big wide world?
Very few end up retiring from the service from age!

Think before you answer........

Your language, 'spelling' and tone is very similar to our medicated friend once active on the topic of privates  :roll:

Jobs for conversion and degree paramedics:
Mining and Exploration Sector $100k
Offshore Gas Platforms $100k +
Ships - name your price
Rehabilitation Consultant (degree qualifies) $80k

Jobs for exSJA ambulance or CertIII PTO
Ice cream truck driver
Taxi
Funeral home pick up service & forum trolling  :-D

Quote from: kellyp on February 16, 2012, 05:22:05 AM
Well daddy Mi Thanking,

Wal I's dus kno ah bit about yous knows,. do yous understans mees sunshines?

Mirror Mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all. The Blonde, that's who. Smart House.

If you can't take back what you give, then get a cooler position.

I know humour extremely well and I can spot sarcasm thrower a mile away....

Kellyp

And that dear Kelly is exactly why these forums stall and everyone switches off.

Get a Facebook page or start a blog for ex-SJA's who crave attention.

Save yourself further embarrassment and edit/delete your recent posts so no-one else is unfortunate enough to read them.

Oh., and get some help

Kellyp. The word you are looking for is "Access Cab" and there are plenty of them.

Call me blonde but if the  patient isn't sick enough to require an attending officer (even just for routine observations) then why would an ambulance be required? Why would anyone incur a cost of an ambulance for a walker or wheelchair low acuity? What would they be paying for if all they are getting is a Cert III PTO up front with the patient unattended in the back.

Privates in the eastern states (and the one that was here in SA recently) charge absolutely the same rate for transport whether there is one or two officers.

No savings to the bill payer or general public whatsoever.

So the obvious question is "who benefits from solo officer transports"?

The answer is ?

Hence the reason the AEA is so hot on the topic of " profit focus rather than patient care driven".

Heard that Paramedical Services SA is no more.  Staff given the dcm, premises up for lease and vehicles moved back interstate. Nothing but a small whimper on radio a fortnight ago about them folding SA operation. AEA and Health only briefly commenting on ABC891.

The silence on this matter (and on this forum despite all the early hype) is surprising.

Anyone know wtf happened?

Medboy? Where did all that "love" go?  Or was a misterteddy correct that you may end up dissappointed