Victorian ambos sometimes use painkiller Fentanyl to deal with job stress – but the paramedics union denies 10 Geelong staff were sacked or disciplined due to the drug. Ambulance Employees Australia secretary Steve McGhie says about 20 paramedics were interviewed as part of an Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission investigation of Ambulance Victoria. But Mr McGhie says the 10 Geelong staff in question resigned or were disciplined for behaviour in their personal or social life that breached the professional code of conduct – not because of the drug. Mr McGhie says while Fentanyl misuse isn’t a “huge issue” among paramedics, he says about six people in recent years have developed a dependency, largely because of undiagnosed mental health injuries incurred at work.
