Tasmania's ambulance service has vowed to overhaul its culture after the death of a paramedic almost six years ago exposed workplace cracks.
Damian Crump, 36, took his own life in late 2016 using drugs stolen from the ambulance service's supply store, a coronial inquest found in March last year.
The inquest put a spotlight on Ambulance Tasmania's "unhealthy organisational culture, poor leadership, inadequate mental health and wellbeing support, and ineffective medication management procedures", according to a report released on Friday.
Current and former Ambulance Tasmania staff reported being bullied, harassed, subjected to sexually inappropriate behaviour and feeling unsupported by supervisors and managers when issues were raised, the Culture Improvement Action Plan report found.
"Evidence was provided to the coroner of medication management infrastructure and procedures that did not meet acceptable standards, an absence of a peer support program, and supervisors and managers who were over tasked and not prepared to support the mental health and wellbeing of their staff," it revealed.
The fallout prompted the state ambulance service to commission a staff survey in 2021 that found 84 per cent of their stories reflected a "sense of threat".
Thirty-six per cent of the 323 anonymous respondents self-reported depression, anxiety, stress, or post traumatic stress disorder, 17 per cent said they medicated for those issues or poor sleep, and 70 per cent disclosed trouble sleeping.
"These figures are broadly consistent with data ... from other frontline healthcare organisations. Where the results from the Resilience Scan differ from other organisations is around people's experience of their interactions with management," the report said.
It found results were indicative of an overwhelming trend toward "authoritative" leadership styles, with the greatest sense of threat coming from managers within their workplace.
"It is very clear from the results of the (survey) that staff at Ambulance Tasmania are feeling very negative about the organisation, and it is critical that well considered actions be implemented as quickly as possible," the report said.
Seventy-three actions across eight focus areas were outlined within the new 48-page report, with Ambulance Tasmania's executive team pledging to implement all of them by the end of the year.
Other changes have already been enacted, including card swipes, personal identification codes and closed-circuit-television in medication rooms, the creation of a women in ambulance steering committee and introduction of a peer support team.
"I am proud of the strides we have made in the past several months but strengthening our workforce culture is a relentless effort," Ambulance Tasmania Chief Executive Joe Acker wrote in his foreword.
"This is a journey that will continue to evolve and grow each year."
He has vowed transparency on the progress of the latest reforms.
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