Most Hunter paramedics aren't getting proper meal breaks on a standard 12-hour shift, underlining the urgent need for more staff, the Australian Paramedics Association says.
Brendan McIlveen, the association's NSW assistant secretary, said "we're entitled to two half-hour breaks in our standard 12-hour shifts and we don't get them".
"The workload is too busy," he said, adding that this had been occurring "since COVID".
"You eat on the run. When you're at the hospital you'll quickly grab a sandwich or something like that and eat on the way to the next job," said Mr McIlveen, of Hamilton station.
"There's not a chance to sit down, switch off, eat your food and not get a gut ache from eating too quickly."
A NSW Ambulance spokesperson said "the safety of our staff and patients is our top priority".
Its workforce and infrastructure program was "improving paramedic wellbeing with increasing opportunities for staff to take breaks and reduce fatigue".
The NSW government said on Friday it was seeking expressions of interest for a suitable site for a new ambulance station at Edgeworth.
It was doing a "thorough land search to identify potential locations that best meet the needs of the community for ambulance operations".
NSW Ambulance selects sites for new stations using software that maps triple-zero calls.
"The exact locations of the new stations will be confirmed once the land search and acquisition process is finalised," the statement said.
"Construction and operational timeframes will be determined as the project planning progresses."
NSW Health Minister Ryan Park said the Edgeworth station would "support local paramedics to provide the best emergency medical care now and into the future".
"This new infrastructure will improve network coverage and support the existing stations in the ambulance network in NSW," Mr Park said.
The Newcastle Herald reported in June that the Hunter was due to get 50 new paramedics.
They will be based at a Sandgate industrial site because stations at Swansea and Gateshead aren't built.
The Sandgate site was due to open in mid-July, but may be delayed until September.
As well as Edgeworth, new ambulance stations are also planned for Branxton and East Maitland.
Mr McIlveen said there had been "no word of any of these", apart from the statement on Edgeworth.
"I believe the Sandgate temporary site is ready, it's just waiting to be staffed. We still don't have a date for that," he said.
"We've been waiting for years for these extra staff to serve the community."
Mr McIlveen said extra crews would allow paramedics to take meal breaks.
"We rarely get any," he said.
Asked if all paramedics weren't getting meal breaks, he said "I would say the majority".
He said the extra staff would also allow paramedics to "potentially finish on time - that's a big one too".
He said the five planned stations in the Hunter should provide about 100 new paramedics.
"We'd love to see these as soon as possible and we'd love to know if these new shifts will be maintained daily," he said.
He added that consultation was due to begin soon on a "new fatigue policy for NSW Ambulance".
"It's been coming for years. Hopefully that will fix these sorts of things too," he said.
The NSW Ambulance spokesperson said it "takes the risk of fatigue very seriously" and was "updating the NSW Ambulance Fatigue Risk Management framework".
