Surf lifesaver Alex Bartaska is volunteering at the coalface of Victoria's emergency services, working alongside ambulance paramedics who are coping with the most trying, ongoing medical scenarios they have ever experienced.
The 22-year-old and 40 of his colleagues are part of a large volunteer surge workforce from SES, St John Ambulance, Life Saving Victoria, Chevra Hatzolah, CFA, and the Red Cross.
They have been retrained to help deal with the double-edged sword that COVID-19 is presenting to Ambulance Victoria — increased call volumes coupled with staff shortages as more and more paramedics contract COVID and must isolate.
Mr Bartaska has been doing shifts with Ambulance Victoria while studying psychology and theatre performance at Monash University, as well as working as a career lifesaver in Brighton.
He also volunteers for the SES and Ocean Grove Surf Life Saving Club.
"It is getting a lot busier at the moment, a lot of people who are catching COVID are calling triple-0 and calling ambulances," he said.
"I am driving the ambulance, but I'm also using all the advanced first aid skills that we've been taught through lifesaving, also assisting the paramedics when they're treating the patients as well as helping with extrications and manual handling."
There's no special licence required to drive an ambulance but candidates are required to do rigorous training with Ambulance Victoria before they put pedal to the metal — and they're not allowed to drive with the sirens on.
Liam Krige, general manager of lifesaving services at Life Saving Victoria, said Ambulance Victoria officers were still the primary care providers.
"They join up with one of the experienced paramedics and perform minor duties.
"We're very proud of our lifesavers for going out there and providing that assistance but it's also a great opportunity for them to get involved in another side of emergency management and emergency service."
Paramedics exhausted but not defeated
Mr Bartaska said, overall, the experience had been fantastic but he was well aware that the volunteer help had come not a moment too soon.
"A lot of paramedics are tired. They've been working really, really hard, so it feels really good to be able to give them a rest," he said.
"But everyone's very determined. There's a great team atmosphere on the ground, everyone's just trying to support each other."
With his varied and skilled background, Mr Bartaska said it was actually his psychology degree that had been unexpectedly useful on the frontline of the pandemic.
