Opposition motion debate
Georgie Crozier (Southern Metropolitan) (10:01):
That this house:
(1) notes:
(a) the Ashton review into the capabilities of the Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority (ESTA) and its call-taking failures does not adequately grapple with the serious, urgent and life-threatening issues at ESTA, appearing to not seriously or properly engage with deaths caused, in whole or in part, by ESTA’s failings;
(b) that the Ashton review instead provides a set of recommendations focused on ‘cultural reform’, ‘rebranding’, ‘partnerships’, ‘strategic road maps’ and ‘management plans’, which is management speak that fails to grapple with the life and death issues involved or to provide an urgent solution to ensure that the 000 call-taking service meets all benchmarks, provides adequate services and stops unacceptable delays and the unnecessary deaths of Victorians; and
(2) calls on ESTA to publicly release weekly performance reports from 1 July 2022.
Tania MAXWELL (Northern Victoria) (10:30):
I would like to just make a couple of comments about this motion. The challenges faced across our health system at the moment are serious and deeply concerning. It is affecting the level of care that people can expect and affecting the level of care that our dedicated healthcare workforce can deliver.
It must be extremely difficult for those healthcare workers to operate in such a stressful environment, whether they are an ESTA call taker, a paramedic, a nurse or a doctor in our hospitals. We also need to ensure that there is further consideration moving forward as these emergency workers take leave due to stress and fatigue.
I first raised concerns about ESTA when Tony Hubbard from Seymour lost his wife, Gayl, while waiting more than 40 minutes for an ambulance. Mr Hubbard told Ambulance Victoria that if ESTA had told him that they would have to wait so long, he may have chosen to drive his wife that very short distance to their local hospital as she lapsed in and out of consciousness.
Tony Hubbard stood at the Seymour expo in 2020, gathering more than 1000 signatures for a petition to increase ambulance resources in the community, and we encouraged ESTA to review its script and give callers a better understanding of wait times. Back then I noted that our health system was under strain before the pandemic. This was before the dramatic surge in calls.
We recognise that the terms of reference of the review initiated by the government and undertaken by Graham Ashton were quite specific and focused on ESTA’s operating model and capabilities. There needs to be ongoing, thorough examination of ESTA’s operation and service delivery. It is our understanding from the discussions with the government that this is happening—that it will be ongoing and it will be transparent. We certainly hope that is the case.
Data is imperative to understanding and improving the system, and transparency is critical to public confidence. The motion calls for weekly performance reports, which the government has indicated is just not practical. But we think that quarterly reporting of data is reasonable and should be achievable, and we hope the government will move quickly to provide this in a similar way that ambulance response times and crime data are published.
Raising problems is one thing. It is an important part of the work of a member of Parliament and something that constituents expect. But the community also wants to be part of the discussion about solutions.
We have put some of these suggestions to the government previously. They have come directly from the community and include utilising services such as HMS Collective, whose workforce includes registered paramedics and nurses who treat people with minor ailments at home instead of them needing to be hospitalised.
HMS Collective estimates its service of just 20 workers saves 90 hours of ambulance transport every week and reduces the burden on hospital beds. It wants to expand and be part of this solution, but does not qualify for state funding.
Since 2008 there has been an agreement in place between Ambulance Victoria and the former Country Fire Authority, now Fire Rescue Victoria, for integrated stations to provide emergency medical response. The Kiewa CFA wants to pilot as first-aid responders so members can support their local community and save lives. I brought this to the government in June last year. Kiewa CFA is ready and waiting, and I am sure other regional brigades would be happy to consider doing the same.
We recognise the health system is complex, and whether it is ESTA capability or service delivery, ambulance response times, hospital ramping or the call from communities such as Albury Wodonga, Swan Hill or elsewhere for investment in their hospitals, we will continue to advocate for our communities and try to work with the government on delivering solutions. We would like to see extended home care, which could and should be a practical consideration towards a solution to these concerns.
