'Burnt-out' country volunteers fundraising for new ambulance
The West Australian government is being called upon to increase support for country ambulance centres amid fears volunteers are burnt out after years of fundraising for vehicle and substation upgrades.
Volunteers in the South West town of Pemberton are working to raise $300,000 to replace one of their ambulances.
Over the years such fundraisers have become commonplace to help buy expensive equipment and for major work at substations.
St John WA Kondinin-Hyden administration officer Lisa Billingham has spent significant time raising funds for new centres in both towns since 2013.
A new sub-centre opened in Kondinin last year.
"We burnt ourselves out — our volunteers already volunteer so many hours.
"We just did not have it in us to [keep] going to the same degree we did with the Kondinin build.
"However our community has been awesome coming forth with donations."
Ms Billingham said there was enough money coming in to fund daily operations but securing funds for bigger projects was challenging.
She said volunteers should not have to rely on the generosity of the community.
"It's the same pockets that are getting hit over and over again," Ms Billingham said.
"Most small country towns are getting smaller — people's pockets are only so deep.
"I would like to see something like your Royalties for Regions come back into play."
Newly elected Nationals member for Warren-Blackwood Bevan Eatts said he was "gobsmacked" when he found out volunteers in Pemberton were required to fund a replacement ambulance themselves.
"They are [volunteering] their time to drive the ambulance and help people that are getting into accidents, but then they're also expected to volunteer their time to raise money to buy the ambulance," he said.
Mr Eatts said he also wanted to revive Royalties to Regions to help fund regional health services.
The government's latest mid-year budget review found WA recorded an operating surplus of $3.1 billion, which Treasurer Rita Saffioti described as the "envy of the nation".
Under the St John WA volunteer model, substations keep the money collected from call-outs and transfers to pay for operating costs.
Former Nannup volunteer Geoff Wishard said the system worked for the substation when he was there 15 years ago.
"Uniforms, drugs, medical supplies, ambulances, filing cabinets, tea and coffee … everything is paid for by the sub-centre," he said.
"We were fortunate in that we did have enough money.
"We were never short of jobs [and], even though we had to pay for everything, we still managed to accrue money for things like ambulance upgrades.
Mr Wishard did not think government intervention was necessarily the answer.
"Hopefully everyone can work together within the model that we've got … I think that's what the sub-centres are doing now — they're saying, 'We can support each other.'
"If there are communities that are saying, 'This is crazy — we've got to go out and have 400 sausage sizzles to buy a new ambulance,' then the system is breaking down somewhere."
St John WA is contracted by the state government to provide ambulance services through a mix of paid and volunteer staff.
A spokeswoman for the service said sub-centres were always supported if they did not have enough revenue.
"St John WA provides all 137 volunteer sub-centres across WA with suitable ex-metro ambulances as part of a statewide asset management program," she said.
"When a volunteer sub-centre wishes to purchase a brand new ambulance, such as a bespoke 4WD vehicle, St John WA supports the sub-centre with advocacy, grant writing and assisting with community fundraising efforts.
"Any volunteer location which does not have sufficient revenue to cover the service is supported by St John WA to ensure they have the equipment they need to deliver the service including consumables, building upkeep and fleet maintenance."
The WA government is yet to comment on whether it would increase funding for St John WA, but says it is working to place more than 40 extra paid paramedics in country areas.
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