Legislative Council, Tuesday 28 March 2023

Ms FORREST (Murchison) - I acknowledge the responses I received from the Deputy Leader and I will forward that information to the people directly impacted by that. I do appreciate such a prompt turnaround. It is appreciated by myself and by the constituents I am sure.

I wish to raise another matter in regard to the answer to a question I received last week. Last week I received an answer to a question related to current facilities available to the volunteer ambulance officers on King Island and requested the consideration of repurposing the unused Hydro Tasmania building in Currie superfluous to their needs after moving to newer premises. I was disappointed with much of this response. It completely minimised the reality of the volunteer ambulance officers on King Island. They feel unsupported and are expected to make do with clearly inadequate facilities. To quote and respond to aspects of the answer received:

Ambulance Tasmania has explored utilising the Hydro Tasmania buildings in Currie. However, advice received indicates these buildings are currently not for sale.

I know - and they know - that with such tight accommodation on King Island and a currently vacant and suitable site to co-locate Ambulance Tasmania volunteers and SES volunteers, surely a conversation could be had between the Government and the government business that owns it. Or am I wrong, and Hydro Tasmania does not own it? I think you will find that Hydro Tasmania does own it and in the absence of any other remotely suitable building being available, the Premier and minister should have a chat about some sort of arrangement here.

I say this especially as I believe it was on the market some time ago and it did not sell. Perhaps the price was too high. Regardless, the Leader also stated that:

Ambulance volunteers have full access to amenities, including tea and coffee facilities, a write up area for report completion and paperwork and to amenities at the King Island Hospital and Health Centre. The write-up area they generally use is in an airlock with full visibility of everyone in the car park.

Recently, I know our dedicated volunteers have been provided access to a consulting room. Which is great, if and when it is available, but not a space they can access at any time or used for other purposes such as changing facilities, storage of sensitive and other data and equipment et cetera. Furthermore, they cannot use this area for training, confidential or private debriefing whenever the needs arise. Or just to share time together following a call out that may have left them somewhat traumatised. I suggest they do need a dedicated base where these activities can occur. The venue where they are currently located for their base, does not have enough room to enable them to access or an actual toilet.

Yes, as the Leader said, they have access to a port-a-loo there but does anyone really think this is a reasonable option for our highly valued volunteers who the island and we, as a community, rely on entirely to provide ambulances services on King Island? I do also note the Department of Health is looking for an alternative property for Ambulance Tasmania, but no indication of time lines. Especially, as accommodation is so tight on King Island that it would have been better to hear the department say they would actually consider the old Hydro Tasmania building, particularly as it is ultimately owned by the taxpayer.

Why is this important? Why am I speaking on adjournment about this? I have spoken before about the unique challenges for volunteers working in small communities. They need a safe and appropriate place to debrief, the camaraderie and to look out for each other. This was highlighted again when I received an email from one of the volunteers after reading the answer provided last week. I am paraphrasing it a little bit to avoid the possible identification of any individuals which is highly likely in a small community. The volunteer wrote and this is paraphrased. [TBC]

The reply to your questions, which has saddened me deeply, but that may be due to the difficult week. Which, started on Monday with a job that was deeply and personally distressing, due to my connection with the patient and finished yesterday with a medical case involving another member of the community I have a deep connection with.

In the volunteer's words:

After the case, I returned to the shed to find the clothes I had been wearing at work thrown on the floor where I had left them. That the Government and our managers and Ambulance Tasmania think this is acceptable is something I find completely difficult to accept. I do not know whether the second paragraph in the response to your question was deliberately misleading or whether it was just a hastily written reply by a person with no knowledge of the situation to understand the statement.

The statement said: 

Ambulance volunteers have full access to amenities, including tea and coffee facilities, a write up area for report completion and paperwork and amenities at the King Island Hospital and Health Centre.

To me, we have access to those facilities mentioned in addition to the facilities at the King Island Hospital and Health center. If we assume it is just an example of poor English usage, it is still baffling that everything is deemed to be satisfactory because the hospital has these facilities up the road, not where their base is. I defy anyone to describe to me another workplace without tables, chairs and appropriate areas to get changed. Especially, if in clothes that are contaminated by blood, body fluids or even dirt. Not a room for a printer either, which is essential to their role. We can indeed and do, write up our paperwork at the hospital, but it is in an airlock which is used for Covid testing. I would be interested to know if this is how any off-island Ambulance Tasmania staff or indeed staff at the hospital would feel if they were expected to work in an airlock.

As I have mentioned, it is pleasing that the King Island Hospital have made their bathroom facilities available and the consulting rooms available that can be used to write up reports, if they are free. It is clear that they are not for the volunteer ambulance officer's exclusive use. They have no idea when they are transferring a patient if it is available or if it is being used by visiting consultants. Remember, some of these call out jobs they do are deeply distressing because of the personal nature of the relationships. They get called to absolutely everything. While the hospital has also provided access to staff facilities to get a cup of tea after a case, that may not be possible, especially if the crew need to debrief and have time together uninterrupted, which they try to do and need after cleaning the vehicle, getting changed, et cetera at the shed where there is nowhere suitable to sit together and have a cup of tea and a chat with colleagues after a difficult job. Back to my constituents' message:

Anyway, as I suggested to you recently, we have decided as to a group that the toll these decades take on a mental health is far greater than any gains we have made, port-a-loo aside, so we are focusing on our core business which involves being ready to help members of our community when they are in need.

I find that difficult to have to read and know it to be the truth. I urge the Deputy Leader to take this matter back to the Premier and Minister for Health and Wellbeing and ask again, will this be taken seriously? Ask him to read the speech and ask him is this a way we value our volunteers? I know the reality as described by my constituents to be true. I have visited both sites. They are not making this up. I ask the Premier to talk to his Deputy and start a dialogue with Hydro Tasmania about the use of the building.

In any event, let us make suitable accommodation for our volunteer ambulance officers and other volunteers a priority. We simply could not manage without them.

Ms FORREST (Murchison) - I acknowledge the responses I received from the Deputy Leader and I will forward that information to the people directly impacted by that. I do appreciate such a prompt turnaround. It is appreciated by myself and by the constituents I am sure.

I wish to raise another matter in regard to the answer to a question I received last week. Last week I received an answer to a question related to current facilities available to the volunteer ambulance officers on King Island and requested the consideration of repurposing the unused Hydro Tasmania building in Currie superfluous to their needs after moving to newer premises. I was disappointed with much of this response. It completely minimised the reality of the volunteer ambulance officers on King Island. They feel unsupported and are expected to make do with clearly inadequate facilities. To quote and respond to aspects of the answer received:

Ambulance Tasmania has explored utilising the Hydro Tasmania buildings in Currie. However, advice received indicates these buildings are currently not for sale.

I know - and they know - that with such tight accommodation on King Island and a currently vacant and suitable site to co-locate Ambulance Tasmania volunteers and SES volunteers, surely a conversation could be had between the Government and the government business that owns it. Or am I wrong, and Hydro Tasmania does not own it? I think you will find that Hydro Tasmania does own it and in the absence of any other remotely suitable building being available, the Premier and minister should have a chat about some sort of arrangement here.

I say this especially as I believe it was on the market some time ago and it did not sell. Perhaps the price was too high. Regardless, the Leader also stated that:

Ambulance volunteers have full access to amenities, including tea and coffee facilities, a write up area for report completion and paperwork and to amenities at the King Island Hospital and Health Centre. The write-up area they generally use is in an airlock with full visibility of everyone in the car park.

Recently, I know our dedicated volunteers have been provided access to a consulting room. Which is great, if and when it is available, but not a space they can access at any time or used for other purposes such as changing facilities, storage of sensitive and other data and equipment et cetera. Furthermore, they cannot use this area for training, confidential or private debriefing whenever the needs arise. Or just to share time together following a call out that may have left them somewhat traumatised. I suggest they do need a dedicated base where these activities can occur. The venue where they are currently located for their base, does not have enough room to enable them to access or an actual toilet.

Yes, as the Leader said, they have access to a port-a-loo there but does anyone really think this is a reasonable option for our highly valued volunteers who the island and we, as a community, rely on entirely to provide ambulances services on King Island? I do also note the Department of Health is looking for an alternative property for Ambulance Tasmania, but no indication of time lines. Especially, as accommodation is so tight on King Island that it would have been better to hear the department say they would actually consider the old Hydro Tasmania building, particularly as it is ultimately owned by the taxpayer.

Why is this important? Why am I speaking on adjournment about this? I have spoken before about the unique challenges for volunteers working in small communities. They need a safe and appropriate place to debrief, the camaraderie and to look out for each other. This was highlighted again when I received an email from one of the volunteers after reading the answer provided last week. I am paraphrasing it a little bit to avoid the possible identification of any individuals which is highly likely in a small community. The volunteer wrote and this is paraphrased. [TBC]

The reply to your questions, which has saddened me deeply, but that may be due to the difficult week. Which, started on Monday with a job that was deeply and personally distressing, due to my connection with the patient and finished yesterday with a medical case involving another member of the community I have a deep connection with.

In the volunteer's words:

After the case, I returned to the shed to find the clothes I had been wearing at work thrown on the floor where I had left them. That the Government and our managers and Ambulance Tasmania think this is acceptable is something I find completely difficult to accept. I do not know whether the second paragraph in the response to your question was deliberately misleading or whether it was just a hastily written reply by a person with no knowledge of the situation to understand the statement.

The statement said:

Ambulance volunteers have full access to amenities, including tea and coffee facilities, a write up area for report completion and paperwork and amenities at the King Island Hospital and Health Centre.

To me, we have access to those facilities mentioned in addition to the facilities at the King Island Hospital and Health center. If we assume it is just an example of poor English usage, it is still baffling that everything is deemed to be satisfactory because the hospital has these facilities up the road, not where their base is. I defy anyone to describe to me another workplace without tables, chairs and appropriate areas to get changed. Especially, if in clothes that are contaminated by blood, body fluids or even dirt. Not a room for a printer either, which is essential to their role. We can indeed and do, write up our paperwork at the hospital, but it is in an airlock which is used for Covid testing. I would be interested to know if this is how any off-island Ambulance Tasmania staff or indeed staff at the hospital would feel if they were expected to work in an airlock.

As I have mentioned, it is pleasing that the King Island Hospital have made their bathroom facilities available and the consulting rooms available that can be used to write up reports, if they are free. It is clear that they are not for the volunteer ambulance officer's exclusive use. They have no idea when they are transferring a patient if it is available or if it is being used by visiting consultants. Remember, some of these call out jobs they do are deeply distressing because of the personal nature of the relationships. They get called to absolutely everything. While the hospital has also provided access to staff facilities to get a cup of tea after a case, that may not be possible, especially if the crew need to debrief and have time together uninterrupted, which they try to do and need after cleaning the vehicle, getting changed, et cetera at the shed where there is nowhere suitable to sit together and have a cup of tea and a chat with colleagues after a difficult job. Back to my constituents' message:

Anyway, as I suggested to you recently, we have decided as to a group that the toll these decades take on a mental health is far greater than any gains we have made, port-a-loo aside, so we are focusing on our core business which involves being ready to help members of our community when they are in need.

I find that difficult to have to read and know it to be the truth. I urge the Deputy Leader to take this matter back to the Premier and Minister for Health and Wellbeing and ask again, will this be taken seriously? Ask him to read the speech and ask him is this a way we value our volunteers? I know the reality as described by my constituents to be true. I have visited both sites. They are not making this up. I ask the Premier to talk to his Deputy and start a dialogue with Hydro Tasmania about the use of the building.

In any event, let us make suitable accommodation for our volunteer ambulance officers and other volunteers a priority. We simply could not manage without them.