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Speaker 1: Joining us on the line right now is the Director

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Speaker 1: of Ambulance Services, Andrew Thomas. Good morning to you.

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Speaker 2: Good morning, Katie. How are you today?

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Speaker 1: Not bad, Andrew? Terrible weekend on our roads. I mean

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Speaker 1: it started on Friday with the horrific incident at Hayes

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Speaker 1: Creek was I would imagine, incredibly confronting for all first responders,

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Speaker 1: you know, including you guys.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, look, that accident at Hayes Creek on Friday was

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Speaker 2: obviously very confronting for all involved, and that included the

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Speaker 2: health clinics that went to it, our staff, the first responders,

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Speaker 2: and some military personnel that we're there as well. And

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Speaker 2: you know, our thoughts go out to everyone, and you know,

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Speaker 2: our appreciation to all of those first responders that were

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Speaker 2: there that did the best, and obviously, you know, for

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Speaker 2: the public that was also in and around that incident.

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Speaker 2: Obviously it's pretty devastating and we've seen lots of unfortunately,

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Speaker 2: lots of those furious accidents are caring over over the weekend.

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Speaker 1: Now I understand that were the military out there as

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Speaker 1: well to provide assistance.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, look, I believe that it just happened to be

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Speaker 3: that they were there and going past and so they

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Speaker 3: stopped as a I think there was a doctor from

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Speaker 3: the military there that was there been along with the

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Speaker 3: first responders that were there, and so I don't think

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Speaker 3: they were actually they went involved, but they rendered.

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Speaker 2: To assistance until the other emergencies services arrived, given its

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Speaker 2: sort of relatively remote location.

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Speaker 1: Well, and then there was also an accident at four

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Speaker 1: o'clock at Acacia Hills.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, so that one of Acasia Hills fortunately car on

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Speaker 2: a truck and we transported a female through to Darwin

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Speaker 2: Hospital with a in a stable condition with some neck

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Speaker 2: and shoulder injuries. But again that was an incident occurring

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Speaker 2: on the road and on the Stuart Highway there, and

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Speaker 2: the unfortunately about an hour after that, there was the

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Speaker 2: incident that rend A Springs involving a truck and another

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Speaker 2: vehicle and a Portunely, that's sort of the fatality there.

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Speaker 2: And then we're our crews from Tenant Creek and the

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Speaker 2: clinics responded and we've transported the driver of the truck

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Speaker 2: back through to Tenant Creek for a polite assessment.

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Speaker 1: I mean, we talk a lot about our road toll,

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Speaker 1: and we talk a lot about the trauma associated, you know,

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Speaker 1: with the loss of life, for families, for friends of

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Speaker 1: those impacted. But I mean, Andrew, what's it like for

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Speaker 1: you guys, for our first responders heading out to some

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Speaker 1: of these terrible scenes, and you know, when others are

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Speaker 1: sort of trying to get away from that danger. You've

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Speaker 1: got you guys, You've got your paramedics, you've got your fieries,

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Speaker 1: you've got your police. You're running into that danger and

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Speaker 1: trying to help people.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, Look, it is very confronting for our staff. And

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Speaker 2: I think over the weekend we saw, you know, about

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Speaker 2: accidents that we're all quite serious in nature and obviously

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Speaker 2: a number of them involving fatalities across the weekend. And

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Speaker 2: that was right up and down the whole of the

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Speaker 2: Stuart Highway. So we saw cruise from our springs, Catherine, Tennant,

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Speaker 2: Creek and Darwin all responding to serious incidents. And you know,

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Speaker 2: our crews, you know, don't want to be responding to

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Speaker 2: these types of incidents. Obviously we trained for it, and

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Speaker 2: you know we you know, they provide excellent care, you know,

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Speaker 2: from our paramedics at the scenes and working along with

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Speaker 2: the other emergency services, the police and the fieries, you know,

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Speaker 2: to support these but you know, ultimately it's the prevention

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Speaker 2: that we need to look at, and we need to

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Speaker 2: try and make sure that we do have people driving

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Speaker 2: to the conditions being focused and that you know, I

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Speaker 2: suppose probably that getting back to that old age of

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Speaker 2: you know that you know, having control of a vehicle

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Speaker 2: is a really serious thing and you're putting lives of

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Speaker 2: others that risk if you're not doing that and tacking

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Speaker 2: that seriously.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, even looking at you know, the notes

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Speaker 1: from over the weekend. Ye Saturday, there's the incident at

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Speaker 1: you know, north of Stuart Well, a seventy nine year

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Speaker 1: old man transported to Ella Springs Hospital in a stable condition. Sunday,

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Speaker 1: you guys are out to another two single vehicle accidents.

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Speaker 1: One at seven pm a vehicle colliding with a tree,

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Speaker 1: a female and child transported to Catherine Hospital by the

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Speaker 1: Pine Creek Health Center. Then you've got another single vehicle

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Speaker 1: rollover in Humpty Dew about eleven o'clock, an eighteen year

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Speaker 1: old male trapped after that rollover. They're just we seem

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Speaker 1: to be going through a really horrible, horrible spate of

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Speaker 1: road crashes at the moment, and we so often look

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Speaker 1: at those fatalities, but there is so often other really

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Speaker 1: terrible trauma and really terrible injuries as a result of

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Speaker 1: these road crashes.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, look at we know that the well obviously, you know,

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Speaker 2: the fatalities has a big flow on effect to families,

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Speaker 2: communities and the emergency services, but it's also those serious

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Speaker 2: injuries and they you know, obviously take a lot of

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Speaker 2: resources and then and then into the hospital systems, and

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Speaker 2: there's a lot of work and effort that goes to

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Speaker 2: repairing people after they've had these accidents. And you know,

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Speaker 2: I suppose it comes back to looking at a number

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Speaker 2: of these accidents on the on the weekend. Obviously police

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Speaker 2: are investing them, investigating them all, but you know, it

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Speaker 2: does look that, you know, some of them are being

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Speaker 2: caused by people that aren't taking they're driving seriously and

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Speaker 2: driving either to the conditions or aren't sort of following

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Speaker 2: those sort of basic rules that the police keep putting out,

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Speaker 2: which is driver distraction and fatigue and speed and drink driving.

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Speaker 1: Now, before I let you go this morning, I mean

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Speaker 1: just taking a look as well. Another assault by the

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Speaker 1: look of it against cruise.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, look, it's it's so disappointing and it's just it's

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Speaker 2: one of these things that just keeps coming up. And

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Speaker 2: despite the public message and despite our pleas for our

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Speaker 2: paramedics to not being being targeted, we've had a crew

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Speaker 2: in Nolan Boy who have gone to provide care to

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Speaker 2: a patient, a young child who has bitten by a scorpion.

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Speaker 2: I believe the child's fine, but as the crew were

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Speaker 2: sort of leaving, we've had rocks thrown at an ambulance

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Speaker 2: that has resulted in windows being smashed on that ambulance. Unfortunately,

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Speaker 2: the patient and the crew. No one was injured, you know, physically,

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Speaker 2: but obviously it had a big impact on that crew

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Speaker 2: and it's now taken that vehicle off the road for

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Speaker 2: quite a period of time because we know that to

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Speaker 2: get some of those repairs over in Nolan Boy it

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Speaker 2: does take a little while, and you know, our vehicle

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Speaker 2: is then you know we've lost the vehicle. We've had

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Speaker 2: impact on our crews and it's just not okay.

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Speaker 1: Now, this is as I understand it, and please correct

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Speaker 1: me if I'm wrong, But last time you and I spoke,

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Speaker 1: there was another incident in Nolan Boy. Wasn't there where

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Speaker 1: one of you paramedics was knocked out?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, unfortunately, and you know, while that probably two cases

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Speaker 2: Norman Boys, since I've spoken to you, we've also had

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Speaker 2: incidences in our springs and Catherine get similarly with with

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Speaker 2: you know, throwings of rocks, you know, aggression towards our staff,

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Speaker 2: verbal and physical threats, and I think you know, it's

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Speaker 2: just unfortunately keeps coming up, and our paramedics are out

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Speaker 2: there trying to deliver a care to people and you know,

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Speaker 2: and I understand, situations get volatile sometimes and you know,

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Speaker 2: emotions get high when people are caring for people, but

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Speaker 2: that doesn't stop you know how the impact it has

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Speaker 2: on our paramedics. And you know, our staff do an

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Speaker 2: amazing job in difficult and drying circumstances