New ACT Ambulance equipment has experienced serious "teething problems". Photo: Graham Tidy
Multimillion-dollar cardiac equipment fitted to the territory's ambulance fleet has experienced serious ''teething problems'', including spontaneous shutdowns and inaccurate blood pressure readings.
The government spent $3.8 million over four years on 56 new cardiac monitors and defibrillators in this year's budget, looking to upgrade from older, out-of-date models. The units were subjected to a rigorous two-month field testing phase and a scoping study that cost $311,000, before being demonstrated in three weeks of staff training.
Yet the faults, which have affected all 56 monitor-defibrillators, were not picked up until after they were introduced across the ACT fleet.
The government and the ambulance union have assured Canberrans the problems are not posing any threat to patients, with paramedics able to use manual workarounds to ensure no loss in the quality of care.
But questions are now being raised about how the faulty equipment - described by Emergency Services Minister Simon Corbell last year as ''the most essential piece of life-saving equipment carried on board all of our ambulance vehicles'' - made it onto the streets.
Two units began randomly switching off and on again ''for no apparent reason'', while others experienced interference problems with electrocardiograph, or heart rate, traces. There were further issues with taking accurate blood pressure readings.
A series of messages and alerts, which have since been leaked to the media, were sent to ambulance staff since the introduction in late May, warning of potential problems and asking them to advise management of further faults.
Opposition emergency services spokesman Brendan Smyth said the problems should have been picked up before the equipment went live in the vehicles. ''This equipment is to deal with serious health issues when people are in crisis, and you really don't get a teething period,'' Mr Smyth said.
''When you roll this equipment out, you've actually got to be certain that it works, and to see that the ACT Ambulance Service has been forced to issue three notices [to staff] … tells me they haven't got this right.''
Mr Smyth called on Mr Corbell to guarantee the issues would be fixed.
The ACT Ambulance Service believes the problems were caused by incorrect software settings by the supplier on the units that were delivered in December, after ACTAS had finished its field testing. ACTAS is in contact with the supplier, who has checked and re-calibrated all the units and implemented two software updates, which has resulted in ''a significant decrease in concerns'' raised by staff.
The Transport Workers Union, who represent ambulance officers, say they have had reports of
teething problems with the gear, and say they have affected the work of paramedics. But TWU officer Ben Sweaney said the issues were being worked on by ACTAS and the TWU. ''It means that ambulance officers have had to work a little bit harder and a little bit smarter during this process,'' he said. ''But we want to reassure the community that at no time have lives been put at risk.''
An Emergency Services Agency spokeswoman acknowledged the new equipment was placing an extra burden on staff. ''Problems of this nature do impact on the workload and frustrations of paramedics providing patient care in a challenging environment,'' the spokeswoman said.
The faults were revealed in a series of internal messages leaked to politicians and the media on Monday. Senior ambulance executives are preparing to attend a major conference of paramedics, the Paramedics Australasia International Conference, which starts in Canberra on Wednesday.
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