Regional paramedics say an on-call shift model at two South Australian ambulance stations is putting workers at risk while impacting regional staff retention and recruitment.
In the state's Riverland region, Loxton and Barmera paramedics are rostered on for four days in a row and are on-call each night, a working load of 96 hours a week straight.
The stations are the last in the state that operate solely with the on-call model.
It's a rostering model that the Ambulance Employees Association (AEA) labels "a fatigue risk".
AEA state councillor for the Riverland Russell McQuade said that due to the nature of the job, fatigue was not ideal.
"The effects of fatigue can be very, very damaging and not only to long-term health," he said.
"We're working in an emergency healthcare setting and we're on the road, these are not great environments to have fatigue."
Mr McQuade is a paramedic at Waikerie, but previously worked at the Barmera service and said the current roster made it more challenging to retain and recruit staff.
"It causes people to have second thoughts about either full-term or fixed-term positions at an on-call station," he said.
"I've had people tell me they felt isolated at times.
"They're reluctant to invite people to visit them, because if their pager goes off, they've got to kick them out."
Sustainable shifts
Across Australia ambulance services use different rostering systems. Since 2019 the SA union has called for state-wide change across regional areas.
National Rural Health Alliance chief executive Susanne Tegen said demands on paramedics were increasing due to broader workforce shortages in the health system.
She said intensive rosters could be contributing to the loss of new staff in regional Australia.
"If people are on-call for longer periods and don't have that break to recharge … of course they're finding it difficult and will burn out," she said.
Change on the horizon
AEA general secretary Leah Watkins said a change to the on-shift model at Loxton and Barmera could result in the current six-person roster at each station to be doubled to 12 paramedics each.
"We had an agreement with the SA Ambulance Service (SAAS), that where the on-call overnight workload grew to a certain level, [stations] would be converted to an on-shift roster model," she said.
"Loxton and Barmera have already surpassed that workload level."
But Ms Watkins said "positive discussions" could lead to change in the future.
"The amount of progress we've been able to make with the Ambulance Service and the government in the last year has been phenomenal," she said.
"We feel very positive about being able to reach an agreement in the coming months."
Health Minister Chris Picton was contacted for comment, but the ABC was redirected to the SAAS.
In a statement, the SAAS said the Riverland has a number of dedicated teams that work a mixture of roster models and it was constantly monitoring its staff, response times and the community’s needs.
"At Barmera and Loxton, SAAS operates an on-call roster whereby the night shift crewing respond to cases from home."
"SAAS understands the strong desire of the Ambulance Employees Association to see the rosters converted."
Earlier this month, the state government opened a new $4.5 million ambulance station at Strathalbyn, the second of 12 in the pipeline to improve the healthcare system.
