The future of staff at the existing Ettalong Ambulance Station has not been confirmed by the NSW Government following the announcement that a new station will be built in the grounds of Woy Woy Hospital.
The new station, which was announced in late November, is expected to be operational in early 2023 and replace the Ettalong station.
Reports at the time suggested staff at the Ettalong station were blindsided by the relocation and only found out via NSW Health’s letterboxed handout.
It has now been confirmed by Health Minister, Brad Hazzard, that current station staff were advised of the relocation on November 19, five days before the public announcement was made.
“A letterbox drop, with a letter and information flyer offering a virtual briefing or follow-up phone call, was also undertaken,” Hazzard said.
“Flyers were provided to NSW Ambulance staff as well as to staff and patients at Woy Woy Hospital.”
In November, Member for Gosford, Liesl Tesch asked Hazzard a series of questions on notice in parliament regarding the relocation of the site to Woy Woy.
When asked how many staff would be stationed at the new Woy Woy facility, Hazzard said staffing allocation at the new facility was “still being assessed.
“Final allocations to meet current and future demand will be determined prior to the station commencing operations,” Hazzard said.
“The new station will include two of the new Intensive Care Unit ambulances being rolled-out in metropolitan and regional NSW.”
Tesch said she calls on the NSW Government to guarantee that the paramedics who work at Ettalong Station will keep their jobs as part of the transition.
“In the middle of this COVID-19 pandemic, Dominic Perrottet is putting local paramedics on notice that their jobs are on the line,” Tesch said.
“I am calling on Dominic Perrottet and Minister Hazzard to guarantee that no jobs will be lost by the relocation of the Ettalong Ambulance Station.
“Mr Perrottet already tried to cut paramedics pay during this health crisis and now he won’t guarantee their jobs.”
Hazzard said the station was prioritised to be relocated as part of the Rural Ambulance Infrastructure (RAIR) program.
“NSW Ambulance and Health Infrastructure worked to identify a new location using best practice modelling software which maps Triple Zero (000) calls to determine the most suitable location for mobile emergency care in the region,” Hazzard said.
“The new site, located at Woy Woy, will ensure paramedics will be in an optimal location to respond to the greatest number of emergency cases in the shortest time.
“The current station at Ettalong is located outside the area identified by NSW Ambulance Service Planning as providing the best response times for the community.
“The planning and development application for new ambulance stations includes a traffic management plan.
“A draft traffic management report has been completed and the RAIR project team is engaging with Central Coast Council as part of the planning approval process.
“NSW Ambulance has not consulted any developers or potential buyers regarding the Ettalong site.”
In his response to the questions on notice, Hazzard said the existing Ettalong site received a $185,000 refurbishment in 2019 to establish first floor access to staff.
Tesch said the refurbishment will “go to waste under the relocation.
“The Health Minister also refused to answer questions about whether any Health Department officials had met with the station staff about the change and instead he seemed to indicate that they were informed by giving staff a pamphlet,” Tesch said.
The new station will include internal parking for up to 10 emergency ambulance vehicles, administration areas, a training room, and a gym.
Maisy Rae