St John Ambulance Australia says it has confidence in an investigation by St John Ambulance NT into the behaviour of its director of ambulance services, but the national body ignored questions about what whistleblowers say is a toxic culture in the NT organisation, with significant clinical, operational and safety related complaints and concerns raised by frontline staff not being acknowledged.

According to a complaint filed by ambulance workers to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency, director of ambulance services Andrew Thomas was allegedly 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.

It is this complaint which the NT Independent understands also sparked the internal St John Ambulance investigation.

When contacted in late September, AHPRA said it could not comment on matters unless they are on the “public record” while SJANT board chair Peter Carew said it would be inappropriate to comment on the details of the allegations included in the NT Independent’s email, but did indicate an internal investigation was underway.

Soon after publication of the details of the complaints, St John NT threatened to sue the NT Independent for defamation.

The whistleblowers said the complaints were made directly to AHPRA due to a perceived culture amongst the St John Ambulance NT senior executive of sweeping internal issues under the carpet, amid fears of “reputational damage”, among other concerns.

They have also alleged the complaints needed to be filed with the national regulator because of the alleged close personal relationship between former St John NT executive officer Judith Barker and Mr Thomas.

Ms Barker – who has now moved to be CEO at Royal Flying Doctors Service WA – responded through her lawyer Amanda Hodder saying, amongst other things, that it was unlikely for it to be appropriate for her client to comment.

St John Ambulance Australia chief executive officer Brendan Maher said he understood St John NT were investigating the allegations against Mr Thomas.

“We understand that Mr Thomas is not operating as a clinician, pending the outcome of the investigation,” he said.

However, this contradicts what the whistleblowers have said, that while Mr Thomas is no longer on call, he is still in his role. Mr Carew has refused to say whether Mr Thomas has been stood down.

“We have confidence in the process being undertaken by St John Ambulance NT. In light of this it would be inappropriate for us to make any further comment at this time,” Mr Maher said.

However Mr Maher did not respond to other questions about allegations by the whistleblowers that St John NT was failing in its duty of care to employees by not adequately managing welfare and fatigue, that staff morale was at an all-time low, and frustration and unrest amongst paid employees and volunteers was rapidly increasing.

The whistlbelowers further alleged St John NT is sending ambulance drivers instead of paramedics to life-threatening emergencies every day, that significant clinical, operational and safety related concerns raised by front-line staff are being ignored, and paramedic attrition rates are at the highest levels in the country.

In early May, the NT Independent reported that a UWU NT survey found more than three quarters of NT paramedics said St John puts profits ahead of the welfare of workers and nearly half said they had been bullied and harassed by management for engaging in protected action during bargaining negotiations.

The survey also found that 86 per cent of paramedics feel that the “NT government and opposition does not care about the issues facing the NT Ambulance service and its employees”.

NT ambulance service at ‘crisis levels’: Union

The whistleblowers have also said that despite previous statements from former CEO Ms Barker, there remains a culture of victim blaming and reprisals for anyone within the organisation who speaks out and that employees fear that raising complaints will not result in any positive change but instead put the complainant in a position of vulnerability.

Further to the later complaints, Mr Maher was asked if a legal letter sent on behalf of the St John NT board to the NT Independent demanding this publication retain information that it appeared to believe could be used to identify the anonymous whistleblowers in the organisation who had filed the complaints, fitted with the organisation’s stated goals of “strengthening the St John brand” as well as community expectations of how St John Ambulance would conduct itself.

He also ignored a question about what St John NT intended to do to their employees once they had found out the identities of the whistleblowers.

In early September, United Workers Union NT secretary Erina Early said even before COVID-19, the workload in the NT had been increasing significantly, with no extra resources being made available.

“Currently, crews will often work a 12-plus hour shift without a single effective break in that period,” she said.

“Our NT ambulance service is at crisis levels and government does not care as our ambulance service is not run by government.”

The legal letter from lawyer Nicole Dunn, of Dunn and Bowe lawyers to the NT Independent, claimed the article about Mr Thomas that highlighted the allegations and the two ongoing investigations was defamatory to St John because it suggested, among other things, that St John “has placed the public [and its employees] at risk and that there are workplace culture issues at St John”.

The letter added that the publication of the alleged “imputations was reckless and indefensible” and “calculated to cause irreparable harm to St John and should not have been published”.

“The NT Independent is an online publication which could potentially reach millions of people around the world,” the letter from Ms Dunn said. “The article has already caused and will continue to cause St John substantial harm and reputational damage.

Shortly after the legal letter was sent, Mr Carew also sent an internal email to staff about the latest controversy, in which he claimed the issue becoming public has “damaged the reputation of the organisation”.

He said St John “takes such claims very seriously” and that the board “moved quickly and appropriately to commence an investigation”.

The legal letter from the Sydney law firm, understood to have been initiated by Mr Carew before seeking board approval, demanded that the NT Independent remove the article and apologise to St John for exposing its problems.

The St John NT board members Mark Coffey, Hamish Baddeley, Robert Kendrick, Terri-Ann Maney, and Roland Chin did not respond to questions about whether the board approved the threats of legal action.