Sydney’s Daily Telegraph is reporting on a tragic case involving a murder/suicide by a NSW Ambulance Paramedic .

Problems with respect to the culture in NSW Ambulance have been reported in the past, see in particular the Legislative Council Inquiry into the management and operations of the Ambulance Service; click here for the final report, or here for background information and submissions via the NSW Ambulance website).

The incident that is the subject of the report in the Daily Telegraph occured on 11 June 2008, that is after the Legislative Council inquiry had been established (15 May 2008) but before it had released its final report (20 October 2008). Ambulance reports that it has taken steps to improve in the area of human resource management (see the Ambulance Service’s Response to the Legislative Council General Purpose Standing Committee No.2: Review of the Implementation of the Recommendations of the Inquiry into the Management and Operations of the Ambulance Service of NSW).

It appears that the Coroner will be reviewing the practices and procedures that applied in a culture that we hope no longer exists within NSW Ambulance. Regardless of their subsequent reforms, the Coroner’s findings may still provide valuable further lessons for the Ambulance Service.

Michael Eburn
20 July 2010.