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"If there was a major event we couldn't handle it."
If a serious accident happens near Kununurra there may not be the experienced ambulance officers to respond.
This is the claim of one volunteer, following the withdrawal of the paid highly-trained paramedic from the local St John Ambulance service.
The volunteer, who has asked to remain anonymous as he was speaking as a private citizen, said the introduction of the paramedic had been a dramatic success, boosting morale, increasing volunteer numbers and providing much-needed training.
And...it wasn't just Kununurra that benefited, Wyndham was also in dire straits at the time and the paramedic helped get things back on track in the town.
When St John Ambulance decided to send up a paid paramedic, it raised the objection of the Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union, which did not want a single one of its members sent, preferring two.
The Kununurra volunteer said it was yet another case of the unions dictating.
He said: "If you are sick or injured in the metropolitan area, you get two highly-trained paramedics to assist you.
"If you are in the country, and are in an accident, you rely on first aiders with a bit of extra training."
He said the paramedic made a dramatic difference to the level of training provided to volunteers in Kununurra: "You couldn't ask for a better person.
"He (Darren) was trained in New York city before coming over here and completing more training.
"We had always known that he wouldn't be here forever - the union wasn't happy."
He said that the State Government also seemed to have a hand in the situation with St John withdrawing similar country-based paramedics to cater for restructuring of hospital emergency operations, whereby paramedics might have to spend longer outside hospitals with patients waiting for admission.
"We were told we should have a replacement in three weeks, but in the meantime there is no ambulance crew available to attend an emergency.
"All the goodwill Darren had built up has gone out the window.
"If private enterprise was running the show, it would be classed as criminal negligence."
He said people got overkill in the metropolitan area whilst country people were 'hung out to dry'. |
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