The Australian Paramedics Association (APA) NSW have been forced to halt industrial action over NSW Ambulance and NSW Health’s pilot program, the Mental Health Clinician Responder Team (MHCRT). APA NSW argues that the program is unsafe, poorly planned, and risks weakening emergency response capacity.
The action initially began on 6th May, with paramedics refusing to take part in any training, logistics, or vehicle movements connected to the rollout of the MHCRT. APA NSW said the targeted bans would not disrupt patient care and are necessary to protect the safety of workers, nurses, and patients.
The MHCRT model would pair mental health nurses with Special Operations Team (SOT) paramedics. The stated aim is to reduce pressure on emergency departments by offering immediate, on-scene care to people experiencing a mental health crisis.
According to APA NSW, there is a better alternative to the MHCRT already tested and operating in NSW. Since 2015, the Mental Health Acute Assessment Team (MHAAT) has operated in partnership with Western Sydney Local Health District Mental Health Services to provide emergency mental health care in Western Sydney.
The MHAAT model pairs mental health nurses with regular non-SOT paramedics in dedicated units. It has shown success in reducing hospital admissions while delivering care specifically tailored to psychiatric needs. Unlike the MHCRT model, MHAAT has the capacity to transport patients.
Industrial relations disputes are increasingly plaguing the healthcare sector. This proposal comes off the back of NSW Health’s dispute with public psychiatrists, resulting in mass resignation of the state’s psychiatrists and understaffing in mental healthcare. NSW Health is also addressing an ongoing dispute about dangerous working conditions and unfair pay with the Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation (ASMOF) NSW.
The MHCRT program is intended to run alongside the MHAAT program. APA NSW says the program repurposes existing SOT paramedics rather than adding additional staff to address the core issue and address patients efficiently. There are less than 50 SOTs across Sydney. Currently, SOT paramedic capacity in NSW is at 49 per cent, meaning only 49 per cent of SOT shifts across locations being filled.
“If our extremely limited SOT resources are used to cover for [New South Wales] Health’s failure to provide appropriate mental health services rather than treated as the scarce, highly specialised essential resources they are, safety will continue to be compromised” said Gary Wilson, APA NSW Assistant Secretary.
NSW Ambulance have refused negotiations with APA NSW, instead escalating the matter to the Industrial Relations Commission (IRC). On 12th May, the IRC made dispute orders forcing APA NSW industrial action to cease, citing “patient safety”. The dispute orders instructs APA NSW that they must not take or “induce, advise, authorise, support, encourage, direct, aid or abet members to organise or take industrial action”. The IRC also cited that the Health Services Union (HSU), which 50 per cent of SOT paramedics are registered with, “has not expressed any concerns”. Dispute orders are in place until 5pm 13th July and carry fines of up to $10,000 per day.
APA NSW intends to comply with the dispute orders. The union still demands that NSW Ambulance cease plans to use SOT paramedics for the MHCRT and instead urge an expansion of the evidence-based MHAAT beyond Western Sydney.
