Ambos mired in 'toxic culture'

There has been growing pressure on the government to deal with systemic issues within the service, with the ambulance officers' union warning in November that a ''dysfunctional and toxic'' management culture had caused the morale of paramedics to hit rock bottom.

A series of complaints of bullying and harassment are being investigated which, if proved, would constitute ''serious breaches'' of the organisation's legal obligations to its staff, according to the Transport Workers Union.

Those complaints - including one of racial vilification - are currently the subject of separate investigations by the Human Rights Commission, WorkSafe ACT, and Comcare.

Emergency Services Minister Simon Corbell confirmed on Monday the government had agreed to a review of the organisation's culture, under the oversight of the Justice and Community Safety Directorate.

''I think both the employees and the employer recognise that there are a range of issues around culture that would benefit from a detailed look at the ACT Ambulance Service,'' Mr Corbell said.

''We have seen very significant growth in the Ambulance Service over the past five to six years in particular, and as a result the organisation has changed dramatically in its scale and size and in the way it organises and administrates itself,'' he said.

An Emergency Services Agency spokesman said the review would look at organisational behaviour, and make recommendations to ensure the ACTAS has ''clear expectations and structures around employees' ethical responsibilities, values and professional conduct''.

No one has been selected to lead the review, and a timetable is yet to be determined.

It is the third major review of the ACT Ambulance Service in recent years, coming after the wide-ranging 2010 Lennox report, and the 2009 Auditor-General's audit of operational performance.

TWU official Ben Sweaney, who has pushed for the review for some time, said it was not uncommon for poor management cultures to develop in ambulance services. ''It is accepted that the ambulance industry has a 'command and control' culture, accompanied by a tendency to blame, and is thought to be risk averse,'' Mr Sweaney said.

''Indeed, it has been found that the ambulance industry suffers serious management cultural problems, resulting in high levels of unresolved conflict within a dysfunctional working environment.''

The news comes as the opposition emergency services spokesman Brendan Smyth prepares to move a motion in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday, calling for answers on a series of issues across the four arms of the ACT's Emergency Services Agency.

Mr Smyth will call on Mr Corbell to detail how the government has addressed 20 separate problems across ACT Fire and Rescue, the Ambulance Service, State Emergency Service, and the Rural Fire Service.

He said he was aware of complaints about the Ambulance Service made to WorkSafe ACT, and said he understood submissions had also been made to the Fair Work Ombudsman.

''The real question is, why has it taken Simon Corbell and the government so long to address these issues,'' Mr Smyth said.

The union said it could not comment on the individual complaints before WorkSafe, Comcare and the Human Rights Commission, ''other than to say that if proven, they constitute serious breaches of legislation and supporting policy designed to foster a safe working environment,'' Mr Sweaney said.

He said the cultural issues were not affecting the high level of care provided by ACT paramedics.

''Members of the community should rest assured that despite there being extensive challenges in ACTAS senior management, front-line ambulance officers still provide the most advanced and professional service of any jurisdiction,'' he said.

He expected the results of the new review to mirror similar processes undertaken in NSW and Britain.

The TWU will work with the government on designing the new review.