By Grant McArthur
Melbourne Herald-Sun
Copyright 2008 The Melbourne Herald-Sun
MELBOURNE, Australia — Nine out of 10 paramedics say that fatigue is affecting their judgment at work, leading to medication errors, time delays and falling asleep at the wheel.
A survey of the state’s ambulance officers reveals 98 per cent have suffered fatigue in the past year, with 87 per cent claiming it has impaired their work.
More than 10 per cent of the 346 paramedics surveyed by Ambulance Employees Australia say being overworked has affected their work on a weekly basis, while a quarter say they have been compromised monthly.
The survey is the latest salvo in the enterprise bargaining agreement negotiations between the union and the State Government.
But the report, to be released by the union today, does not include any records of medication errors or driver mistakes.
Ambulance Employees Australia state secretary Steve McGhie said patients were being put at risk by the extreme workload facing paramedics after a 17 per cent increase in ambulance responses in the past two years.
“If you have a fatigued paramedic out there it is dangerous for them to respond in emergency conditions, and that puts them and the general public at risk,” he said.
“It’s been on the increase over the last year or two with the increase in workload, and we think it is getting to a dangerous level.”
Metropolitan Ambulance Service operations manager Danny McGennisken said he was not surprised by the paramedics’ concerns.
“Unfortunately medical emergencies occur 24 hours a day and we need to roster accordingly,” he said. “The results found in this survey are not surprising as every 24-hour industry faces the same challenges.”
More than a quarter of the paramedics surveyed say they have a diagnosed medical problem caused or exacerbated by work-related fatigue.
Almost four in 10 paramedics said they had to leave work before their shift was over because of fatigue in the past year.
Instances reported included paramedics falling asleep at the wheel of an ambulance, falling asleep driving to or from work, and drawing up the wrong drug for a patient.