❓ Hon Adele Farina questions the Minister for Health regarding alleged suicide attempts by St John Ambulance staff and the reporting protocols surrounding such incidents. The Minister was unaware and outlines actions taken following a previous review of suspected suicides.
AnsweredQoN 189Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
ST JOHN AMBULANCE — STAFF —
ATTEMPTED SUICIDE
189. Hon ADELE FARINA to the
parliamentary secretary representing the Minister for Health:
(1) Is the
minister aware that there have been two suicide attempts in the past four weeks
by St John Ambulance employees, one a paramedic and the other a communications
operator?
(2) What action
has or will the minister take to ascertain the major factors contributing to
the attempted suicides?
(3) Are these
incidents reported at the monthly meetings between the principal's
representative and the provider's representative?
(4) If no to (3),
why not?
(5) Subsequent to
the monthly meetings referred to in (3), is the minister informed of these
incidents?
(6) If no to (5), why not?
ATTEMPTED SUICIDE
189. Hon ADELE FARINA to the
parliamentary secretary representing the Minister for Health:
(1) Is the
minister aware that there have been two suicide attempts in the past four weeks
by St John Ambulance employees, one a paramedic and the other a communications
operator?
(2) What action
has or will the minister take to ascertain the major factors contributing to
the attempted suicides?
(3) Are these
incidents reported at the monthly meetings between the principal's
representative and the provider's representative?
(4) If no to (3),
why not?
(5) Subsequent to
the monthly meetings referred to in (3), is the minister informed of these
incidents?
(6) If no to (5), why not?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1) No, the minister was not aware
of this prior to the member's question.
(2) The Chief
Psychiatrist has conducted a review of five suspected suicides that occurred
between 21 December 2013 and 30 March 2015. As a result of this report,
recommendations have been made and the Department of Health will seek to follow
up St John Ambulance's responses over the next six months.
(3) No.
(4) There is no
contractual requirement for St John Ambulance to report on these matters. St John
Ambulance must report all severity assessment code 1 clinical incidents
resulting in serious harm or death of a patient. This includes all sentinel
events, categories 1 to 8, which will now be reported as a severity assessment
code 1 clinical incident to the patient safety surveillance unit.
(5)–(6) Not applicable.
Refer to the responses to (3) and (4).
some notice of the question.
(1) No, the minister was not aware
of this prior to the member's question.
(2) The Chief
Psychiatrist has conducted a review of five suspected suicides that occurred
between 21 December 2013 and 30 March 2015. As a result of this report,
recommendations have been made and the Department of Health will seek to follow
up St John Ambulance's responses over the next six months.
(3) No.
(4) There is no
contractual requirement for St John Ambulance to report on these matters. St John
Ambulance must report all severity assessment code 1 clinical incidents
resulting in serious harm or death of a patient. This includes all sentinel
events, categories 1 to 8, which will now be reported as a severity assessment
code 1 clinical incident to the patient safety surveillance unit.
(5)–(6) Not applicable.
Refer to the responses to (3) and (4).
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