September 6, 2012
QAS Commissioner Russell Bowles quashed rumours that the State Government is considering closing ambulance stations when he addressed the annual North Coast Region Conference of Local Ambulance Committee delegates in Kingaroy last Saturday.
Delegates from across the Sunshine Coast, North, Central and South Burnett met at Kingaroy RSL Club.
“It is not on anyone’s agenda,” he said.
“It’s a good time to be ‘frontline’.”
Mr Bowles said if anything, the ambulance wanted to build on frontline services.
He praised the LAC members for their work with the community.
“13,000 CPR For Life certificates have been issued by LACs throughout the State,” he said.
He said this had certainly saved lives, and he hoped more people would do the course, which wasn’t just about CPR – it also covered basic first aid.
“A lot of people would still be alive if someone tilted a jaw and cleared an airway,” he said.
Mr Bowles said any restructures of the ambulance service would be to make it more relevant locally.
“We need to get the ambulance service back into the community and the community back into the ambulance service.”
Member for Nanango Deb Frecklington also emphasised that there would be no closures of ambulance stations.’
“Like the rumours about the courthouses, it’s not happening,” she said.
- Related article: LAC Delegates To Meet In Kingaroy
