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file
https://www.apaq.com.au/media/website_posts/23/APA-Qld-Media-Release-22.10.24.pdf
2024-10-22 03:46:12
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Mr Craig Emery
Acting Commissioner
Queensland Ambulance Service
By email: Commissioner.QAS@ambulance.qld.gov.au and craig.emery@ambulance.qld.gov.au
Dear Mr Emery,
As you are aware, after a formal selection process, you were appointed to the Queensland Ambulance Service Commissioner role for a period of
six months from 7 August 2021. The Director-General’s email to staff referenced “I trust that you will all support Craig in
this critical role as we continue to navigate the challenges of COVID and significant demand growth.”
We hope that you are feeling rested, relaxed and recharged since you have been on annual leave from 13 December 2021. We understand the
importance of having the ability to take annual leave when you need it.
We presume that you have been uncontactable and that you don’t know that the health service crisis in Queensland has escalated and the
Ambulance Service you purport to lead is on its knees. That is the only way we can rationalise that you have not cancelled the remaining
weeks of your leave and returned to work to lead an Ambulance Service, a health organisation, through the worst of the pandemic response in
Queensland.
To update you (while you have been on vacation), amongst other challenges, paramedics across Queensland have:
-
been worked to the bone in full PPE in the middle of summer with excessive shift extensions that are extremely fatiguing (more staff and
resources are required so that shift lengths are not extended beyond 12 hours given the current working conditions);
-
been working as single officers and have been left on scene for hours without access to a stretcher ambulance to transport the patient;
- been directed to transport unwell covid positive patients to hospital in the front seat of a sedan ambulance vehicle;
-
been informed by managers that there are PPE shortages at station level (this places paramedics at risk and causes anxiety for them about
their safety at work. It is unbelievable that QAS has not planned for this despite the 18 months to do so);
- been asked to cancel their scheduled leave (are you leading by example?);
-
been asked to change their rosters with no notice (creating significant disruption to families at an already challenging and stressful time.
Again, more staff are clearly required);
- had their Critical Care Paramedic training suspended and their pay rate reduced;
-
been completely left in the dark due to the constant changes in the hospital system and a complete lack of communication to paramedics
updating them on the changes;
- been denied the daily workload data that was provided to paramedics up until 21 December 2021; and
-
become increasingly concerned about the ability of QAS to attend to patients when they need us most (reports from paramedics is that the
delays and workload is out of control including that Code 1 patients have waited for an ambulance for over 6 hours and Code 2 patients have
waited over 18 hours).
The practical impact of your holiday is that three other Queensland Ambulance Service managers are acting up in positions that they are not
experienced in so that your role is backfilled. At a time like this, the most experienced and competent managers need to be in their
substantive roles fulfilling the role they know how to do. It’s not rocket science. We cannot understand how the Queensland Ambulance
Service Assistant Commissioner of the Gold Coast region (where almost half of the state’s covid hospitalisations are) has been removed to
backfill a Deputy Commissioner position and an inexperienced Acting Assistant Commissioner assigned to the Gold Coast region.
Aside from the practicalities, we want you to know that there is collective panic amongst paramedics about the current state of the
Queensland Ambulance Service and what is to come. This is a time that demonstrating highly visible and caring leadership becomes even more
important. You can’t do that while you are on holidays. You can’t do that with your office door shut at Kedron.
We plead with you to show up, show your face, rally the troops (who will be asked to sacrifice so much during this pandemic response) and
navigate the Queensland Ambulance Service through this crisis. We shouldn’t have to plead with you to do your job.
We hope to see you on the ramps soon.
Australian Paramedics Association Queensland]]>
page
https://www.apaq.com.au/news/open-letter-to-commissioner-craig-emery-currently-vacationing-during-the-escalating-qld-pandemic-crisis/
2022-01-10 23:44:16
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]]>
page
https://www.apaq.com.au/news/presumptive-ptsd-legislation/
2020-08-12 23:54:20
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APA Qld cannot stress enough to all of our members the importance of fatigue management.
All members should have received an email about this important issue. ]]>
page
https://www.apaq.com.au/news/qas-mandatory-out-of-service-procedure/
2020-01-18 04:29:48
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sensationalising or over-stating”. QAS made it clear that its position was that APA Qld’s submissions were unrealistic and inaccurate. A joint project between the Ambulance Employees Association and Griffith University has exposed more evidence that supports what members have been communicating to us and we have been speaking out about. We will continue to speak out about this serious issue.]]>
file
https://www.apaq.com.au/media/website_posts/18/IMG_2237.JPG
2018-09-17 01:25:34
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none
2018-08-14 03:10:17
15
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url
https://www.facebook.com/7NewsBrisbane/videos/2026850283994480/?fref=mentions
2018-07-18 10:30:00
14
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url
https://parlav.wetransfer.com/downloads/9c577b813d514b94d1297084df221ceb20180718020601/4c4443c3f881ce074077fc9140e5a93420180718020601/84ba5a
2018-07-18 01:15:00
13
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url
https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Education_and_Employment/Mentalhealth/Submissions
2018-07-16 07:00:00
9
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APA Qld is now offering Professional Indemnity Insurance inclusive with membership for our Paramedic members in preparattion for the National Registration of Paramedics, click to read more.
]]>
page
https://www.apaq.com.au/news/professional-indemnity-insurance-update/
2018-07-15 14:00:00
11
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We would urge our members and the community to listen to the following radio broadcast from ABC RNs Background Briefing.]]>
url
http://radio.abc.net.au/programitem/pgRGqEpLOG?play=true
2018-07-06 01:05:00
12
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url
http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/qld-ambulance-service-accused-of-ignoring-tampered/9946046
2018-07-05 10:00:00
10
1
url
http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-05/drug-tampering-scandal-in-queensland/9940004?pfmredir=sm
2018-07-04 22:30:00
8
1
url
https://sway.com/jX85Qo47tCQ4UgyQ
2018-04-30 23:05:00
7
1
url
https://sway.com/dN3Zyb6ggo8G9I4Y
2018-02-28 23:03:00
6
1
url
https://sway.com/JAZ78LLJ9JpMURCm
2017-11-30 23:01:00
16
1
file
https://www.apaq.com.au/media/website_posts/16/QAS-EB-2017.pdf
2017-09-01 04:28:00
5
1
url
https://sway.com/NRX7jLvSO5kwOSBS
2017-08-31 22:00:00
4
1
This is at current as close to a work value assessment that is available at the moment. Hopefully the contents of the document will be used effectively to ensure that QAS employees are no longer the lowest paid in Australia.]]>
file
https://www.apaq.com.au/media/website_posts/4/QAS-Remuneration-Inquiry-Report.pdf
2017-06-27 22:00:00
1
1
file
https://www.apaq.com.au/media/website_posts/1/March-2017-Newsletter.pdf
2017-02-28 22:00:00
2
1
page
https://www.apaq.com.au/news/paramedic-registration-update/
2017-02-11 22:00:00
3
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file
https://www.apaq.com.au/media/website_posts/3/February-2017-Newsletter.pdf
2017-01-31 22:00:00