2 days ago
Union hopeful as NSW government vows to refurbish Broken Hill ambulance station
When Ben Weller moved to far-west New South Wales to join the local paramedic squad in 2022, his place of work was equipped to handle 18 full-time employees.
A few years on, the number of paramedics in Broken Hill has more than doubled, although there have been no changes to the decades-old infrastructure to accommodate them.
It has left Mr Weller, now the local delegate for the Ambulance Division of the Health Services Union (AD HSU), hopeful some planned refurbishments will address this issue.
Last year, the NSW government announced a $615.5 million investment into NSW Ambulance to deliver 30 new ambulance stations and more than 2,500 additional staff across the state, including regional and rural areas.
Mr Weller said this has led to the number of full-time equivalent staff based at the Broken Hill Ambulance Station to grow from 18 to 36.
"We're currently over that level at 42, so it's been a huge change, and I think overall quite a positive one for our community," Mr Weller said.
Despite welcoming the growth in staff, Mr Weller admits the boost in numbers has not come without drawbacks.
He said, apart from the space where the vehicles were stored, the current facilities, first built in 1981, were dated and too cramped, which he worried presented issues with long-term staff retention.
"We've done what we can to make it homely and make it welcoming for all our new staff," he said.
"[But] it is quite a small environment and it's not the best work environment.
"I know at the moment our change rooms are inadequate, there's quite a lot of asbestos in the building [and] the space is just too small in terms of square metreage."
According to Mr Weller, the asbestos in the structure has also delayed internal maintenance works, including repairing a urinal in the male toilets, which has been out of order since January 2017.
Amid a series of announcements about new ambulance stations across the state, the ABC Broken Hill contacted the state government and NSW Ambulance about upgrading the existing station.
A NSW Ambulance spokesperson said the station "will be refurbished this financial year to improve the facilities for paramedics".
"The safety of patients and paramedics is our highest priority," they said in a statement, adding that any "hazardous material" would be removed and disposed of safely.
A NSW government spokesperson said, with ambulance staff being on the frontline of the state's health system, upgrading ambulance stations was "a major focus".
Ambulance NSW said it would keep staff updated on the progress of the works, although Mr Weller said he had yet to hear any specifics from a union perspective.
The ABC also asked NSW Ambulance for more details about the timeline and scope of the works, but did not receive a response.
Mr Weller said he was pleased to hear an official commitment to improving the station and believed collaborating with the AD HSU and local staff and management would lead to the best outcome.
"It's a pretty tight timeline, so it would be amazing if we could start engaging with [Ambulance NSW] straight away to pave the way forward," he said.
"Having that space for staff to train and really progress their personal development [will be] huge in retaining them and keeping them engaged in their workforce.
