Workers from Curragh Mine, 250 kilometres west of Rockhampton, can get on with their jobs safe in the knowledge that if sickness or injury strike they will receive qualified medical assistance despite the fact the nearest major hospital is hundreds of kilometres away.

Curragh Mine’s Executive General Manager Rod Bridges said having instant access to the very best in paramedic and Emergency Response personnel can make all the difference to Occupational Health and Safety, especially in rural or remote areas.

“Immediate Assistants’ paramedics working at Curragh bring a level of professionalism and training to the mine site that is second to none”, Mr Bridges said.

“Support can be as basic as removing a splinter to keeping someone who has had a heart attack alive until we get them to hospital.

“The paramedics work with the Emergency Services Officers that IA also provides: trained rescue professionals who can recover people from vehicles, put out fires and perform all those crucial emergency response operations.”

Mr Bridges said that with 1,200 employees on site, safety is a vital aspect of Curragh Mine’s business, and it depends upon Immediate Assistants.

“It’s essential that we can guarantee that our people can come to work and return home safely,” he said.

“IA paramedics’ level of training and medical expertise certainly helps us achieve our vision regarding the safety for the entire workforce on site.

“They have provided prompt back-up for a number of incidents during the past two to three years, we thank them for that, and we’re looking at a long-term relationship with Immediate Assistants.”

Having an on-site medical service means injuries such as strains and sprains can be diagnosed and appropriately treated on the spot, rather than sending employees off-site where they would often face the frustration of long waits for treatment and time off work.

This in turn incurs an unnecessary Loss Time Injury (LTI) burden.

Immediate Assistants’ paramedics are highly trained and experienced in Return to Work Co-ordination.

This helps to minimise LTIs, while at the same time, effectively and appropriately managing injured workers back to work earlier.

Immediate Assistants customised Wellness Programmes also positively contribute to worker education and preventative strategies.

“The paramedics and ESOs work well with our employees and members of the Emergency Response Team,” Mr Bridges said.

“Their level of professionalism, their level of training and medical expertise certainly guarantees that.

“It has proven to be a very successful partnership.”

For more information about the services offered by Immediate Assistants, please visitwww.immediateassistants.com or contact us on 1300 788 559 (Australia) or 0800 633 427 (New Zealand).

Immediate Assistants provide professional paramedics, emergency services officers and security guards to the resource sector across Australia and New Zealand.