Overtired 'ambos' make mistakes

A survey by the Ambulance Employees Australia (AEA) has revealed that most errors of judgement made by paramedics can be attributed to exhaustion.

It seems that 75 per cent of the mistakes they make can be blamed on a lack of sleep and the hours they work.

The predicament has come to light through an online survey conducted by the Ambulance Union in Victoria last week which questioned more than 350 paramedics.

The survey found that most on average managed just six hours sleep a night and 25% even less, averaging about five hours only.

Research in recent years has found that the optimum amount of sleep needed for most people to function effectively in a work environment is between 7 and 8 hours each night.

Steve McGhie from AEA says ambulance workers need a 10 hour rest break between shifts and long periods of work, instead of the current eight while rostered on.

McGhie says errors of judgement are being made in giving drug dosages and in receiving emergency calls and it is a concern that workers are falling asleep in emergency centres and at the wheels of ambulance vehicles.

The AEA says enterprise bargaining is currently under way with the Government and has called for a new culture in the new ambulance service.