St John Ambulance NT has refused to respond to a union claim there are no regular Tennant Creek-based paramedics, and those who are brought in have to work 96-hour on-call rosters, but four-and-a-half hours after questions were sent, the organisation issued a press release saying they had started a recruiting drive for remote areas.

United Workers Union NT secretary Erina Early last month wrote to St John director of ambulance services, Andrew Thomas and Chief Minister and Health Minister Natasha Fyles – in an email seen by the NT Independent – raising her concerns there were no longer any permanent paramedics employed at Tennant Creek station with the exception of the officer in charge.

“It is our understanding that paramedics are being sent to Tennant Creek on a drive-in and drive-out basis on a two to four week rotation,” she wrote.

“This arrangement is not acceptable, especially with the workload required of Tennant Creek crews and the current 96-hour roster requirements.”

A 96-hour roster means that paramedics have to do their regular shifts and be on call for four days and nights, or 96 continuous hours.

“United Workers Union has serious concerns for the welfare of our DIDO members who are working these rotations and as well as the health and well-being of the officer in charge,” she said.

“We have been trying to address this roster issue for many, many years. But people feel obligated to work for those rosters, as they want to do what is the best for the community, they don’t want St John, and less experienced members don’t want to rock the boat.

“It is a huge fatigue issue, and we don’t want to be in a position where a paramedic gets hurt.

“The union acknowledges the unique challenges of staffing Tennant Creek however St John NT cannot continue to provide a Band-Aid ambulance service to the community of Tennant Creek.

“We identify multiple concerns for our members, within policies and for the community if you cannot provide stability and the appropriate multidisciplinary pre-hospital emergency care which is provided by permanent paramedics.”

“The Tennant Creek community are not getting the ambulance services they deserve. It is time for St John NT to acknowledge there is a problem.”

The NT Independent put questions to St John about the health, safety and welfare concerns at about 9.30am Friday, and at about 2pm, St John media manager Jeannette Button sent a press release to the same email address, not answering any of the questions but announcing a recruitment drive.

St John were also asked how many paramedics short it was in Tennant Creek but this information was not in the press release. Ms Early said they were five paramedics short in Tennant Creek, and there were two paramedics in Nhulunbuy, meaning they were three short.

The press release quoted Mr Thomas saying the recruitment drive would target qualified and intern paramedics from across Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, for roles in Nhulunbuy, Tennant Creek and Alice Springs.

“Our plan is to offer paramedics a chance to expand their clinical practice while enjoying everything the Territory has to offer,” he said.

In his February 16 email responding to Ms Early, Mr Thomas said fill-in paramedics were driving or flying in to cover vacancies at Tennant Creek and Nhulunbuy.

He said St John had been recruiting for the past three years, with nine induction groups since January 2022 which was unprecedented in St John NT’s history, and were expanding recruitment to New Zealand and the UK.

“As you have alluded to in your correspondence, recruitment in the ambulance industry has been challenging and continues to be challenging, particularly the health sector,” he wrote.

“With other ambulance services, health sector and other job opportunities being available for paramedics, we need to find alternative options to deliver ambulance services to the communities of the NT which we serve.”

He said there would be new incentives to try and attract, and keep staff in Tennant Creek and Nhulunbuy.

Those incentives include free housing for those stationed in the Barkly, preference to staff completing 12 months for relocation to any NT location for work, relocation costs being paid for paramedics who stay for 12 months, and 12 month contracts.

A $500 a week “special Nhulunbuy allowance” said to cover being on 96-hour on-call rosters is also being offered.

Mr Thomas is under investigation by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency, according to whistleblowers, for allegedly being under the influence of alcohol on four occasions, while on call as an intensive care paramedic and had also allegedly provided treatment after drinking.

The allegations have not been proven and Mr. Thomas has not responded to the NT Independent about the claims. However, St John engaged a director of the legal firm it uses to investigate his behaviour separately. In a letter to whistleblowers St John chair Peter Carew said the board had considered the results, which he said were privileged and confidential, and had reached a unanimous decision that no action would be taken against Mr Thomas or former chief executive officer Judith Ms Barker.

The NT Independent understands Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency is still investigating.