Michelle Fyfe resignation: Union says they are ‘not surprised’ by decision for CEO to leave St John WA

The United Workers Union says it is not surprised by CEO Michelle Fyfe’s decision to “leave a service that has been run into the ground, on her watch”, adding that it welcome new changes to St John WA. The West Australian broke the news on Tuesday that Ms Fyfe had resigned after months of intense scrutiny of her running of the State’s ambulance service — and the deaths of at least three West Australians while waiting for paramedics. St John WA chair Shayne Leslie confirmed the news that the CEO would leave the job on July 12, saying “now is the time for new leadership, fresh eyes and renewed energy to take the organisation forward.” United Workers Union National Ambulance Coordinator Fiona Scalon said now is a “crucial point” for the State Government to take “decisive steps to ensure ambulance services are run for the benefit of the WA community.” “We welcome the opportunity for ambulance services in WA to be put on the right track,” she said in a statement. “Government has already taken the unprecedented step of inserting senior Department of Health and Police operatives into SJA headquarters. “Now is a further opportunity to look at how ambulance operations can be supported.” Ms Scalon went further to say they weren’t surprised by the CEO’s decision to fall on her own sword, saying the service was “run into the ground on her watch.” “The CEO has been part of an ambulance service with systemic problems,” she said. “The WA Government needs to put the safety of the WA community as the first priority, which would be a welcome change for people in health emergencies and a welcome change for hard-working paramedics and ambulance staff.” But Ms Scanlon stressed Ms Fyfe was far from the sole cause of the issues at St John. “It is admirable that Michelle has stepped down given the recent events under her tenure but there’s not just one person responsible for this,” she told talkback radio. “There’s a whole swathe of people who... we need to understand better why they’ve made the decisions they’ve made over the last few years.” “There’s a whole layer of executives at St. John who make decisions every day about how operations are going to be run, not just the CEO.” Ms Scanlon said better resourcing needed to be a primary focus for St John moving forward. “Dealing with the lack of resources on the ground to provide the service takes a toll on our members,” she said. “And our union and our leaders went to St John, prior to the borders opening, saying you’re going to need to bolster your resources in the lead up to Omicron hitting Perth and the rest of Western Australia. “And they chose not to - so we do think that there were decisions that could have been made that weren’t.” The Union said the State Government is now able to turn the private service into “government hands” following the recent parliamentary inquiry and new changes to the structural hierarchy. “The move by the Government to take responsibility for operating ambulance services would mean the WA community is no longer at the whim of a private provider and its board, with the bottom line, sadly, as their primary priority.” Mr Leslie, who threw his support behind Ms Fyfe a fortnight ago, said the CEO led St John through a pandemic and challenging period of growth over the past four years. “We appreciate her hard work and commitment to St John during this period, including her leadership of key transformation and innovation initiatives,” he said. “Ms Fyfe was due to finish her contract in October this year but has opted to step aside earlier to allow new leadership to bring fresh energy and solutions for the next phase of St John’s critical service to the WA community.”