Gordon Reid (Robertson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm standing in the emergency department as I have so many times before, first as a medical student and then, finally, as a senior medical officer. There's one sound that will always stand out in my mind, and that is the piercing drill of the bat phone. This phone is the prearrival notification of a critically unwell patient requiring immediate and life-saving therapy or life-saving intervention. The paramedic provides a brief handover with regard to the status of the patient and the mechanism of injury. On this occasion, standing on the flight deck—the part of the emergency department where that bat phone is—phone in hand, I'm rapidly transcribing details of the information of a patient who has been seriously injured in a motor vehicle accident.

This is a constant reality on the Central Coast, it is a constant reality throughout New South Wales and it is a constant reality right across Australia. Someone's family—their world—has changed in an instant. The gravity and enormity of the situation, the absolute catastrophic and horrendous time when someone is involved in an accident, cannot be understated. From the time of the crash to the extrication and treatment by paramedics, emergency management and beyond, the toll on the patient, the family, the staff and the emergency services is enormous. It's unparalleled.

I want to take you now to the emergency department following a traffic accident. The bright lights are on, the team are assembled and we're standing in the resus bay. The airway doctor and nurse stand prepared, ready to assess and secure the airway of the patient. The breathing staff are ready to assess and manage immediate and life-threatening insults to the patient's ability to breathe and oxygenate. Circulation is the urgent evaluation and management of the patient's circulatory system, arresting major sources of bleeding. In the disability assessment, there's a rapid neurological evaluation, an assessment of the level of consciousness and the spinal cord, and a hypo/hyperglycaemic evaluation. During exposure assessment, we have a hypo/hyperthermic assessment and evaluation for other injuries, minor or serious.

Further staff then prepare the necessary pharmacological intervention that may be required for the patient. Radiology arrive with a portable X-ray machine, and the CT scanner is placed on standby because in a motor vehicle collision it's likely the patient has suffered serious fractures or serious injury. Pathology and the blood bank are placed on standby in case of the need for a massive transfusion protocol to be activated, and social workers are present to provide psychosocial support to the family and loved ones of the patient. This is only to name a few of the team members ready to provide care to the patient who has been involved in a motor vehicle accident. This is a massive team effort to ensure the health of the patient.

We are not invincible or impermeable to harm. I have seen this firsthand on many occasions with people of all ages, of all abilities and from all backgrounds. Life is precious, and we must treasure it and protect it. That is why we need to act, and that is why we are acting, as a government and as a country.

Our government is firmly committed to delivering improved road safety throughout Australia. The National Road Safety Strategy 2021-2030 will guide the government to deliver these safety outcomes alongside our partners in the states, territories and local government areas. This strategy sets out Australia's road safety objectives and priorities for action. It includes road trauma reduction targets for the decade to 2030. Tragically, approximately 1,200 people are killed and a further 40,000 are seriously injured on Australian roads each and every year. This strategy will cover four pillars of the safe road system: safe road use, safer roads, safer vehicles and safer speed.

The government is developing an action plan to be considered by Australian infrastructure and transport ministers. It will be designed to have measurable criteria and clear lines of accountability for action, divided between the states and the federal government. Of local importance on the Central Coast is the Black Spot Program. Fagans Road at Lisarow and Showground Road at Narara are being targeted by this program to reduce risk. It's through these actions of our government that we can make our roads a safer place.

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