United Voice News
Eight days to save MICA
In nine days Victoria’s internationally-recognised intensive care MICA ambulance service will disappear unless Premier Brumby urgently intervenes, the Ambulance Union is warning today.
At least 330 of Victoria’s 350 Mobile Intensive Care Ambulance (MICA) Paramedics have now resigned their qualifications, effective 9 September 2009.
MICA paramedics and their union are calling on Premier Brumby to provide a better career structure to reward their additional two years of training and greatly enhanced skills and responsibilities.
Steve McGhie, Ambulance Employees Australia State Secretary, said that unless Premier Brumby acts now Victoria will lose our world-class MICA intensive care ambulance service.
“MICA paramedics are Victoria’s highest-trained operational paramedics and some of the most highly-trained paramedics in the world,” said Mr McGhie.
“330 MICA paramedics, almost the entire MICA workforce, have now resigned their qualifications effective September 9.
“Premier Brumby must act now to save our world-class MICA intensive care ambulance service. Unless he acts now our MICA service will be gone. ”
“Without MICA thousands of Victorians will die over the coming years that would otherwise have been saved.”
“They are needed at the most complex and demanding cases, such as road trauma, stabbings, shootings and cardiac arrests, and use their specialist skills to save thousands of lives each year.”
“This government knows MICA has been in crisis for several years now. We tried to get them to resolve it in our collective agreement but they refused.”
“This is a community asset that is envy of the world. Losing it will be a catastrophe for Victoria.”
“Across Melbourne, MICA Paramedics have improved the survival rate from cardiac arrests by up to 25 percent. This is world’s best practice.”
“Their clinical interventions have also been found to have saved our community millions of dollars.”
Intensive care MICA Paramedics are authorised to perform more than twice as many clinical procedures as Ambulance Paramedics.
Many of the life-saving drugs and clinical procedures they use are the same as those administered by doctors in hospital emergency departments.
MICA Paramedics say they actually will earn more once they resign their MICA qualifications and return to work as Ambulance Paramedics.
