SA Firefighter
General Discussion => SAAS => Topic started by: uniden on January 09, 2008, 05:00:56 PM
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Heard a rumour that SAAS might investigate the provision of a retained type of staffing for some of their stations. Some of the volunteer stations struggle to have enough crew and some rarely have cars available at all. Its getting harder to find volunteers of course.
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one problem i have noticed is that many potential vollies like to pick & choose which station to work out of... for instance, one of my brigades members has just started vollunteering, however has chosen the busier station, goolwa, rather than meadows even though it is closer....
perhaps this is contributing to the problem.
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i dont understand why the age to volunteer with SAAS if higher then what it is for CFS or even SES.
does anyone know why?
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i dont understand why the age to volunteer with SAAS if higher then what it is for CFS or even SES.
does anyone know why?
there is no age limit, however there is a requirement for an un-restricted drivers liscence.
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i dont understand why the age to volunteer with SAAS if higher then what it is for CFS or even SES.
does anyone know why?
A) You need a license to drive and B) I'd suggest you're going to see a whole lot more nasty trauma.
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thanks guys, just thourght i would ask, coz there was an ad in the paper and it said minimum age was 19. so i didnt go to the info night because of that.
cheers
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He wont be at Goolwa long as this is going to be turned into a full staff station,Dont SAAS already pay some of their volunteers???
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mmm...these two old chestnuts again!
Goolwa rumour has been going around for 10 years.....and the retained one for nearly as long!
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mmm...these two old chestnuts again!
Goolwa rumour has been going around for 10 years.....and the retained one for nearly as long!
ha ha! wonderful input there!. very blunt and to the point...
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The Goolwa crew currently run over 1000 jobs a year and about 1/3 of those being cat 1/2 jobs. They have been talking for years about putting a paramedic car in there but nothing ever happens. At one stage when they were having problems staffing a shift the Paramedic team leader would go on shift with one of the vollies.
Last night SAAS attended a debrief we had and they were the only car covering Goolwa, Victor, Finniss, Mount Compass etc etc..... Another car is needed but no cash to do it. :|
It is surprising how many vollies at the station are from the metro area, but i guess being the busiest country vollie station in the state, why would you want to go to a station that does 300 jobs when you can go to one that does 1000-1300.
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He wont be at Goolwa long as this is going to be turned into a full staff station,Dont SAAS already pay some of their volunteers???
I don't believe SAAS pay any Volunteers.. - After all, they would no longer be voluteers if they got paid. ;)
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My understanding is that the SAAS Volunteers don't get paid a wage, but have their costs covered...eg travelling to & from SAAS work, and costs associated with paying child care in some circumstances....
So I suppose it is simply ensuring that the only thing volunteers give up is their time
Pip
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I think the volunteers' employer may also get some reimbursement. We had a SAAS vollie here at work and i believe it was something along those lines. If anyone from SAAS is on here can you please confirm?
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Was talking to a SAAS vol,she was saying if she is at work and gets aSAAS job her employer is paid for the time she is away so as she still gets paid.
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So from what is stated:-
* SAAS volunteers get reimbursed for travel costs & expenses.
* The employer gets paid if SAAS volunteers respond during work time.
* MFS retained get a small hourly wage
Have I got this right ??
Hmmmm, sound similar system but would be different on tax returns.
Personally I like the SAAS system.
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Where is smallflame.. she should be able to answer about the SAAS reimbursing vollies.
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So from what is stated:-
* SAAS volunteers get reimbursed for travel costs & expenses.
* The employer gets paid if SAAS volunteers respond during work time.
* MFS retained get a small hourly wage
Have I got this right ??
Hmmmm, sound similar system but would be different on tax returns.
Personally I like the SAAS system.
I believe retained MFS get a monthly retainer ($300?) plus somewhere in the region of $20? per hour for calls attended. I'm sure someone will correct me if these figures are'nt right.
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Where is smallflame.. she should be able to answer about the SAAS reimbursing vollies.
prehaps ashamed? heard smallflame hasnt done a lot recently.
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Where is smallflame.. she should be able to answer about the SAAS reimbursing vollies.
prehaps ashamed? heard smallflame hasnt done a lot recently.
Clever, Country kid. Commenting where you have little or no idea.. Perpetuating rumours, wherever you may have heard it from, is not particularly intelligent. However, feel free to actually contribute to the volunteering rather than sidelining and throwing threads into disarray with idiocy. On the bright side, we've obviously found spellcheck. At least thats something to be proud of today. :wink:
We're reimbursed for petrol if we're out of area, and for a meal. If you're within the catchment area there's a $5 payment per case attended during a shift. If you have to leave work as part of a second crew, you usually have to be within the catchment area to be viable to take out the second vehicle, and thereby recieve compensation to have left work. There's no point leaving if you're working in North Adelaide and need to get back to Goolwa for a cat 2!
Yes, there are issues crewing country stations, and there will continue to be seeing as people have less and less time to give to the community. There are incentives being discussed, but all up in the air as far as last time I heard anything.
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i dont understand why the age to volunteer with SAAS if higher then what it is for CFS or even SES.
does anyone know why?
A) You need a license to drive and B) I'd suggest you're going to see a whole lot more nasty trauma.
YEp, 100% correct. In CFS/SES you can distance yourself somewhat from the blood and gore, SAAS, you're probably going to be wrist deep until someone more qualified gets there, even then you don't HAVE to hand over...
The minimum age stipulations is because you have to have a FULL c class license, or it makes training very difficult. I didn't come off my P's until the last week we had to complete our driving log (8 hours, at least 2 at night). It makes things difficult if you can't drive the ambulance, especially if you are the least qualified to deal with teh casualty
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so vollunteers get paid $5 per case they attend... sorry not havign a crack (or questioning you smallflame), but that doesnt sound like reimbursement, that sounds like straight out pay??
seems odd...
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The minimum age stipulations is because you have to have a FULL c class license, or it makes training very difficult. I didn't come off my P's until the last week we had to complete our driving log (8 hours, at least 2 at night). It makes things difficult if you can't drive the ambulance, especially if you are the least qualified to deal with teh casualty
Don't you have to be 20 to get your full licence in SA? Countrykid said the minimum SAAS age was 19...
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The minimum age stipulations is because you have to have a FULL c class license, or it makes training very difficult. I didn't come off my P's until the last week we had to complete our driving log (8 hours, at least 2 at night). It makes things difficult if you can't drive the ambulance, especially if you are the least qualified to deal with teh casualty
Don't you have to be 20 to get your full licence in SA? Countrykid said the minimum SAAS age was 19...
19
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The minimum age stipulations is because you have to have a FULL c class license, or it makes training very difficult. I didn't come off my P's until the last week we had to complete our driving log (8 hours, at least 2 at night). It makes things difficult if you can't drive the ambulance, especially if you are the least qualified to deal with teh casualty
Don't you have to be 20 to get your full licence in SA? Countrykid said the minimum SAAS age was 19...
19
Thanks
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Just a small comment Smallflame "In CFS/SES you can distance yourself somewhat from the blood and gore," Who do you think cleans up the mess after you guys leave - including the ones beyond your help & the mess you guys leave :wink:.
And we are normally in there with the paramedics as there isn't that many of you guys is there?
So incentives hey - tell us more, I would be interested in what they are considerng since the same problems that affect SAAS affect SAMFS retained, CFS & SES. $5.00 a job? sounds like a real deal :-D.
Anyway good luck with it cheers
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Just a small comment Smallflame "In CFS/SES you can distance yourself somewhat from the blood and gore," Who do you think cleans up the mess after you guys leave - including the ones beyond your help & the mess you guys leave :wink:.
And we are normally in there with the paramedics as there isn't that many of you guys is there?
So incentives hey - tell us more, I would be interested in what they are considerng since the same problems that affect SAAS affect SAMFS retained, CFS & SES. $5.00 a job? sounds like a real deal :-D.
Anyway good luck with it cheers
Chook, I'm in all 3... Mind you, I think most of the goriest stuff I've done has been with CFS and SES.. SES probably the worst. Was speaking from experience though, mentally its easier to distance one's self in orange or yellow because you don't have to develop too much of a rapport(yes, primary entry you do develop something of one.. before someone jumps on that too) so its easier not to think too much about whats going on.
The age thing is also because we get to administer some pretty interesting things. I mean, as is CFS and SES I've probably used just oxygen in those roles, SAAS we're (under consult in most cases) allowed to administer Midazolam ,Diazepam, Penthrane (the green whistle), salbutamol, Epinepherine (adrenaline) and several other cool bits and pieces. I guess its something of a responsibility thing; I'm not keen on having half hte people I know stick a needle in me, intermuscular or not... I'd be even less pleased with someone in highschool standing over me with a syringe!
I'd make the assumption also they're hoping for a higher level of maturity, rather than people who still find themselves dying seeing someone naked etc.
Incentives for SAAS are looking like subsidised Study, or the opportunity to go beyond the usual Cert IV in Basic Emergency Care. These however seem like rumours, though this was directly from the horse's mouth.
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How do you find the time? Anyway was only having a slight dig :wink: As you know the payment for service thing always rears its head with vollies, even if it is a token payment!
Anyway good on you for having the fortitude to do what you do, and you come out of it with a certificate (a real one :-D).
A letter I received from the minister late last year was going on about some sought of inititives to attract & hold on to volunteers.
Anyway good on you younger guys (non gender specific :wink:), pity there isn't more of you.
cheers
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someone said that the $5 we get is pay its not its reimbursement for having to drive to the station call comms in adelaide and a bit towards food its not a pay.
Goolwa is busy but so is Mallala, Mallala is now runnning two cars per day as much as possible they cant cover every shift with two cars but they do it as much as they can.
not everybody fits in with each team hence going to goolwa instead of meadows i am curently looking at changing teams for reason not discussed on here its all personal choice. not all stations have sleep on facilities that could be another reason.
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Goolwa have their own house in the main street now, separate bedrooms Austar etc etc.
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Paid or not SAAS have real issues with metro crews let alone country.It isnt nice when you wait half an hour for an ambulance on a Cat2 which is coming from FMC, and the casualty keeps asking where is the ambulance while they are upside down in the car :-o
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yes but it has to happen saas are working on it now including the new RSDP which will boost paramedic numbers in the country and hopefuly the experienced paramedics do metro work.
also saas own a house in goolwa but its not for goolwa team its available to all staff volly and paid. its a holiday house rented to staff at a cheap rate goolwa is a big enough station that they have sleep on facilities built in.
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yes but it has to happen saas are working on it now including the new RSDP which will boost paramedic numbers in the country and hopefuly the experienced paramedics do metro work.
I am a little perplexed? Why do you want more experienced paramedics in Metro? -given the challenges of distance and lack of resources - experienced paramedics would be much better placed in the country after they've done their metro time. I've worked both Metro and Country as a paramedic - and the country is definitely the more challenging of the two!
also saas own a house in goolwa but its not for goolwa team its available to all staff volly and paid. its a holiday house rented to staff at a cheap rate goolwa is a big enough station that they have sleep on facilities built in.
does this house perhaps belong to the Ambulance Welfare Fund?
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I was talking to a MICA officer from hamilton,he was saying that in Vic they have had a few SAAS members come over of late as the pay is better....So if SA want to fix the staff shortages then they better pay more money but they did just get a pay rise...
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If SAAS want to recruit and retain, perhaps they shouldn't treat their recruits like idiots.
Known case in a country station where a recruit was told that they would be given RPL on their Bachelor of Nursing at recruitment time. When the course started, the recruit was informed that SAAS does not do RPL, and that they would have to attend every training session and prove their skills in order to gain their Ambo status... to the point where the recruit was made to attend basic anatomy and physiology lectures even though they had been a tutor to other students in this subject at university. So, SAAS wanting more experienced staff is a bit of a joke if they won't recognise the resources they already have under their noses.
And the $5 pay for each job is only if you get back to station before the next one. You might get a job at 0800 and get your $5... but then when you have cleared and are on your way back to station, you might get another call. It can go on all day and you still only get that one $5 cheque because you weren't back on station between each call.
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Sorry should explain further, SAAS Goolwa used to run out of the combined SAAS/St John facilities, however they were'nt the greatest so they purchased a former police residence next to the police station to use as the new SAAS station. The truck is kept at the house during the day but at night is kept at the old station for security reasons.
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thanks Mund - wasn't aware of that one! -still -I've been out of the country loop for 4 years now!
Squiddy - I'm sorry to hear about your friend being treated like that - But I am inclined to think he was given a bum steer - or at least didnt find out all the facts about RPL in SAAS.
SAAS's current policy means that anyone who believes they are eligible for RPL can apply provided that they can produce the appropriate evidence - In line with tertiary standards nationwide - so am a little perplexed as to why that happened!
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SAAS house at Goolwa is AWF's, and so is the one at Edithburg :wink:
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there is also a AWF house at watervale in the clare valley
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A couple of things,
First, Smallflame, I take it you are a volunteer for SAAS going on your post. In regards to your post, and the responsibility thing, age should be no barrier, as I have met some young people who are very mature and responsible, and others who are older, who lack maturity and lack a whole lot of responsibilty. In your role, yes you can administer certian drugs, but only under specific guidelines and after a consult to an ASMO, Penthrane, salbutamol and oxygen excepted.
In regards to being able to distance yourself from "gory stuff", well I think no matter which organisation you work for (or your case volly for), there is always potential. And, what some people call gory, others won't.
As for the more experienced paramedics in metro,you need experienced paramedics in country too, considering that there are big distances to cover, and you can get some nasty stuff in country too, not to mention that volunteer crews may (and do) require a higher level of clinical support at times. In metro, you want another car, 99% of time you will get it. In country you want a second car, well you may not get it, or if do, it can take a long time.
As for the retained idea, it could work, MFS to it in country, and it works well. In SAAS's case, well, it could be an option, but not up to me to make.
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I must have missed the memo on not seeing gory stuff last week :roll: :-P
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I must have missed the memo on not seeing gory stuff last week :roll: :-P
I think I've cleared this up now. I said its simply easier to distance yourself not spending a whole lot of time having hands on / usually constant voice contact with the casualty. I've said 3 times I participate in the role in all 3 capacities, you still see the same things. Perhaps an elementary reading/comprehension course is in order, because it seems there's a remarkable amount of people who read what they want to out of a passage and miss the point.