Cutting disability benefits for paramedics will impact on the rest of the state’s health system, a Labor figurehead has warned.
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Upper House member Daniel Moohkey believes moves by paramedics to be more cautious on the job, by calling in back up for routine manual lifting call outs, could affect the wider health system in what he compared to the “bed block” saga in Sydney hospitals.
Speaking to Fairfax Media on Wednesday, Mr Moohkey said the solution to the paramedic’s plight was simple – to reinstate the benefits and fix a broken workers compensation system.
“I have total sympathy for their concerns, but what troubles me is hearing that paramedics are saying they are inadequately supported and therefore have to take extra crews to perform their duties safely,” he said.
“When saying it in that context it puts massive pressure on the health system, like bed block.
“This is a simple, easy problem to fix and it’s going to have massive repercussions in what it means for response times, which worries me a great deal.
“But I don’t blame them (the paramedics), the biggest failure the government has made here is not to listen and to respond in a timely manner.”
Changes to the death and disability benefits scheme came into effect on Saturday, leaving union officials up in arms and claiming they have lost up to 75 per cent of their entitlements.
Mr Moohkey said Labor would be reviewing the scheme along with others in a biannual review of the workers compensation system.
“Emergency services workers have such high risk occupations, the least we can do is offer them the comfort and care of death and disability (entitlements),” he said.
“This was already taken from them in 2012, at the time Labor, the paramedics and the union said it was a breach of faith – they care for so many and the least we can do is care for them.
“We now see it again in the fears they have when they go out and if they were injured they would find themselves in a worse situation.
“Under the previous workers compensation laws created by the Labor government, many other workers had much stronger death and disability protection.
“Paramedics work on the most unpredictable conditions and are exposed to so many risks – this is a great example why every worker should have greater access to death and disability.”