Specialist paramedics who are specially trained to help to keep patients out of the emergency departments are being sent to Wollongong from Sydney due to a lack of local staff, the paramedics union says.
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The Australian Paramedics Association NSW has highlighted that a number of Sydney-based Extended Care Paramedics are being asked to fill shifts in Wollongong in recent weeks.
"It is true on most days that single paramedics and double-crew paramedics are crisscrossing across metropolitan Sydney, the Illawarra, Central Coast and Newcastle, and that's the end result of year of poorly resourced areas," APA president Chris Kastelan said
"We also have extended care paramedics being asked to go down to the Illawarra area, and it obviously shows that they are really needed down there."
Extended Care Paramedics (ECPs) are specialists who have done extra training so they can assess and treat patients with minor injuries and illnesses and refer them to a doctor or specialist, without sending them to hospital.
Designed to keep patients who don't need to be there out of the ED, the paramedics carry sutures and tissue glue, wound dressings, casting materials, crutches, advanced splints, and advanced analgesia to treat wounds and musculoskeletal injuries.
They also carry specific diagnostic equipment, catheters and feeding tubes, and antibiotics to treat infections.
"A couple of the extended care paramedics I've spoken to say they have gone down [to Wollongong] for a four day stint at a time and they have been really, really busy, because that skill is required there," Mr Kastelan said.
"They have higher levels of training in wound care, catheter care and in nerve blocks for dislocations and fractures, so for relocation of dislocations like shoulders, knees and stuff the patient is not in as much discomfort but can have an alternative referral pathway outside the emergency department."
For months, Wollongong emergency department has been under enormous pressure, with the hopsital recording the longest median wait times ever for people in the ED in the July to September quarter last year.
Local patients also waited well above the average for NSW and for comparable large hospitals.
Mr Kastelan said ECPs also helped to keep elderly people in aged care facilities out of the hospital - an issue which has been a significant problem for the Illawarra in the past year.
"So much of our work can be ferrying the elderly who have catheter-related issues - a significant issue for them but a low-acuity care skill.
"They then take up an ambulance, and double crew and then a bed in emergency department for hours on end, and then they've got to be transported home - so these are really valuable clinicians for non-metropolitan communities."
He said there was just a handful of of ECPs across the entire Illawarra, which meant it was difficult to get 24-hour-a-day coverage.
"Unfortunately NSW Ambulance has really targeted that skill set to where most of the population is - but we think those types of paramedics can be just as valuable, if not more valuable, in more regional and rural areas," he said.
"Places like the Illawarra and South Coast should have more designated extended care paramedics, whose sole role clinically is to treat low acuity patients so they do not need to go to the emergency department."
"We would suggest that, as part of any statewide paramedics enhancement programs, that the Illawarra is at the pointy end of receiving these skilled paramedics."
An Ambulance NSW spokesperson said paramedics were deployed where needed to best meet the needs of the community.
The said there were "more than 200" ECPs across the state, but would not provide figures for the Illawarra.
"ECPs have recently been deployed in support of local health districts in flood affected areas and areas with high seasonal demand for services," they said.
"ECPs are primarily located in areas of sufficient workload to maintain current competency and safety.
"NSW Ambulance applies a Clinical Capability Assessment as well as a service planning methodology to determine the placement of clinical resources, including intensive care paramedics, within geographical areas.
"This methodology considers patient safety and the volume and mix of services required when determining clinical service levels."
Kate McIlwain
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
