United Voice News
This time next week: No more MICA
Deaths from cardiac arrests, major road trauma, stabbings, shootings and bushfires could skyrocket after intensive care MICA services disappear on Tuesday, emergency services representatives will warn today.
Victoria’s internationally-recognised MICA service will disappear at midnight this Tuesday, when the resignations of 330 out of 350 MICA Paramedics take effect.
On the steps of State Parliament this morning Emergency Services Federation representatives will join MICA paramedics to call on Premier Brumby to fix the crisis.
MICA Paramedics 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.
United Fire-fighters Union State Secretary, Peter Marshall said:
“It is terrifying to think that this service will disappear in just a few short days.”
“The death toll on Black Saturday would have been a lot higher without MICA Paramedics.”
“Premier Brumby, the next fire season is just 54 days away. What are you going to say to the families of victims or to injured fire-fighters when the next Black Saturday comes around, if there is no MICA service?”
Police Association of Victoria Secretary, Senior Sergeant Greg Davies said:
“Police work side by side with MICA paramedics every day. We see how many lives they save.”
“When there’s a horrific road accident, a stabbing, a shooting, it is MICA paramedics who lead the resuscitation.”
“Who treated Minister Holding in the ambulance chopper that transported him to hospital, immediately following his rescue? A MICA Paramedic.”
Ambulance Employees Australia State Secretary, Steve McGhie said:
“Victorians need to understand that the life-saving skills of our most highly-trained operational paramedics will no longer be on hand from midnight Tuesday.”
“By this time next week there will be no more MICA. If Premier Brumby allows that to happen, the deaths of critically ill Victorians will start rising dramatically."
“This government has known MICA has been in crisis for several years now. We have tried to get them to resolve it but so far, they have refused to do so.”
“Across Melbourne, MICA Paramedics have improved the survival rate from cardiac arrests by up to 25 percent. That is world’s best practice. Their clinical interventions have also 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.
