News

VAU members will have seen recent media reports about unfilled private NEPT shifts. This relates to private sector shifts contracted to Ambulance Victoria (AV) to provide NEPT services. The VAU has been made aware of private crews contracted to AV and scheduled to work an AV shift, being directed not to log in as an AV resource and reassigned to perform work under other private contracts with health services.

Eynesbury bus accident – 16 May 2023

Along with sending 15 AV emergency crews to the Eynesbury bus accident included, several private patient transport ambulances that were contracted to AV, were also sent to assist with transport of lower acuity patients.

Two patient transport ambulances were scheduled to start their shifts out of West Melbourne around the time the accident occurred. At late notice, the private contractor advised that due to sick leave, they were unable to staff those two resources. Despite informing the company that a major emergency had occurred and those crews were needed, dispatchers had no choice than to send private crews from much further away.

The VAU has since been told that the West Melbourne shifts were in fact staffed. All four crew members were there on time, they were not unwell, and they would have been ready to respond to Eynesbury if sent. But they were allegedly told by their employer not to log in on the AV system as they were rostered, and were instead reassigned to perform work for that companies’ other private contracts that they hold with health services.

While there is no suggestion of any detriment to any patient, the VAU has been advised that those crews would have been sent to Eynesbury if the shift had been provided as contracted. But due to a business decision, those crews were not available when they were needed.

Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident, and we receive reports of private NEPT shifts being dropped with short notice on an almost daily basis. Information obtained by the VAU indicates that approximately 20,000 cases dispatched to non-emergency crews every year are unable to be covered by private companies, resulting in those cases coming back to AV paramedic crews.

Over many years of enterprise bargaining negotiations, the union has listened to private companies threaten to pull out of the patient transport industry if profit margins do not improve. We have seen several companies withdraw from the industry already. Recently a company withdrew from a contract in Rural Victoria leaving a gaping hole in patient transport services.

These examples highlight that the current outsourcing of patient transport services to private contractors is no longer working in the interests of patients and the broader health system. This is why the VAU continues to advocate for patient transport services to be brought back into the public sector.

Patient transport should never have been privatised. AV is the only State ambulance service that contracts almost all its patient transport services to private contractors. With so much of the increased workload placed on the ambulance and patient transport industry coming from lower acuity caseload, there is a clear need for a reliable and resilient public sector patient transport service in Victoria that is focused on their staff, their patients, and the health system.

The VAU continues to advocate for this reform through the NEPT review which is currently underway.

VAU Members will be kept informed.