It has taken a year and a half for Victorian paramedics to receive wage increases.
The pay rise ranges from just under 17 per cent to 33 per cent across four years and also includes commitment to improved working conditions.
The Victorian Ambulance Union (VAU) reached the new in-principal deal with Ambulance Victoria after meeting more than 100 times since February of 2023.
During this time, and before, current qualified and student paramedics have been working and studying through these distractions to deliver life-saving interventions.
All emergency services face a multitude of systematic issues, but now more than ever these workers are speaking out in a very public way. In Victoria, emergency service providers took a stand for better pay and working conditions.
Among them are paramedics, the first responders of all healthcare related incidents, a profession that is truly selfless. Across bustling cities and remote landscapes, paramedics navigate a minefield of danger every day.
But even the most selfless of careers are met with challenge and sacrifice.
As the meetings continued, paramedics and the VAU had been actively advocating for a rise in pay and improved working conditions. Though despite ongoing efforts to negotiate a new agreement with the Victorian government, there was to be no immediate changes - until now.
The Swanston Gazette spoke with a qualified paramedic who wished to remain anonymous, for this reason she will be referred to as Rose.
Finishing university in 2021, Rose took some time away from healthcare to regroup and enjoy quality time with her partner. He was preparing to undertake the looming psychology test needed to join Ambulance Victoria.
The timed emotional intelligence test includes three sections, and a lengthy set of questions, and is to be completed by all qualified paramedics before they enter the workforce.
“It really gets in your head, I would have never passed if I took it straight out of university,” Rose said.
It also was not just the prospect of failing that caused Rose and so many others to hold off, because passing led to just as much anxiety.
“Waiting for a job significantly impacts your mental health,” she said.
After completing 48 days of placement over three years, coupled with the hefty investment of $500 in a mandatory uniform, Rose found herself embroiled in an unjust waiting game, feeling the pressure to seek steady employment.
Then after being placed and starting to work, paramedics across Victoria began striking.
This did not surprise Rose due to the ongoing issues she experienced throughout her time at University and while on placement.
Rose says it's not just one issue but rather a multitude of issues that cause veteran paramedics to leave the workplace and or go on strike.
“It's not one thing. The problem is the whole healthcare system.”
“Waiting at least 6 hours for your patient to get a bed in metro areas or going to people that should probably be going to a general practitioner.”
Being ‘ramped’, which is waiting for your patient to be seen by nurses and admitted into hospital, is a leading cause for the strikes.
Paramedics find themselves unable to tend to new patients, stranded in hospital corridors for hours after their scheduled shifts have ended, and often hundreds of kilometres away from the comfort of their own homes.
But it's not to be assumed that nurses and doctors aren't doing their job; there is just simply not enough.
“There has to be a certain ratio of nurses to beds. If we don't have the nurses to man those beds, they are useless and I'm no good as a paramedic if I don't have a nurse to hand over to,” Rose said.
Nurses have been striking across Victoria since before paramedics joined the protest. They have similar demands: A pay increase and quality working conditions.
In Rose’s opinion, a lack of education is what is keeping these healthcare professions in dire need of change.
“They didn't have the education or funds to access healthcare prior, so smaller issues that were not emergencies turned into life threatening illnesses.”
On her first placement, Rose “quickly realised that we were going to a lot of mental health cases and predominantly with people that had a lower socioeconomic status”. A harsh reality that is all too common when it comes to health care.
General practitioners in Victoria no longer bulk bill, and the few that give a partial refund are still asking for at least a $70 out of pocket expense. This often leaves little opportunity for low socioeconomic status persons to receive healthcare, and the discrepancy is affecting students to the elderly.
Rose says education should start in primary schools across Victoria.
“Health literacy is one of the most important aspects that leads to an individual’s diminishing health. We need to start educating children on what early signs of diseases or conditions look like.”
The Swanston Gazette also spoke to a seasoned paramedic, currently serving on the Mornington Peninsula who, as well, wished to remain anonymous. He will be referred to as Josh.
Josh’s concerns lie with unplanned overtime and experienced veterans leaving paramedicine because of the systemic issues, which he has wrestled with this since becoming a paramedic.
Josh said he understood the sacrifices he would need to make from the start, yet he hadn't anticipated just how demanding they would become.
“You can only work so many hours in the week before you start questioning whether it is worth it.”
Victorian paramedics were doing a collective 800 hours of forced overtime per week and were often being kept late because of avoidable issues, including being ‘ramped’ and attending non emergencies.
Patients being ramped can also cause extreme concern for their safety.
“If you're in an emergency department for more than ten hours your risk of death increases from all causes,” Josh said,
“The issue is when you're routinely finishing one, two, three or even four hours after your designated finish time and are not really providing the high level of paramedic care we strive for”.
Overtime can turn Josh's ten-hour shifts into a 14-hour shifts leaving little time to spend with loved ones.
“You can only miss so many birthdays, so many meals.”
Having previously served as an emergency nurse prior to transitioning to a paramedic role, Josh possesses firsthand knowledge of the dynamic environment within the emergency department. He understands the necessity for an all-hands-on-deck approach to deliver top-tier care to patients.
Josh says the problems lie within the Australian healthcare system as a whole as each role has an effect on another, and many work together to achieve this high level of care.
“From an ambulance point of view, we really need to improve our triaging of calls, because people are going to call triple zero when they're in a panic and it's not the public's job to know when they're in a medical emergency.”
Josh suggests a complete overhaul and reconstruction of this system, to ensure paramedics are seeing patients in accordance with their level of emergency.
“We need to gut and rebuild the triage system.”
Amid the strikes of the past 18 months, dedicated professionals such as Josh and Rose have remained steadfast in their commitment to enhance the healthcare system.
The issues addressed in the new agreement at times outweighed their passion for helping and caring for Victoria’s residents but now, with the new agreement, paramedic students do not have to expect these distractions.
The new agreement between the VAU and Ambulance Victoria targets pay discrepancies and working conditions for paramedics.
But to address systemic issues embedded in Victorian healthcare, such as staff shortages, long wait times, and unequal socioeconomic access to care, an overhaul of current practice and procedure is still required.
And “really what paramedics on the road want is just to have a life, too”, Josh said.
For more information on the progression of Ambulance Victoria Enterprise Agreement Negotiations, visit the Ambulance Victoria webpage.
If this story has raised issues for you or someone you know, consider accessing support via these services:
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In an emergency, always call 000
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