Ambulance officers want one of their own to run the NSW service to help deal with a critical staff shortage and a long-term bullying problem, a parliamentary inquiry has heard.
Station officer and union representative Ray Tait has criticised the way the NSW Ambulance Service is run, saying its chief executive Greg Rochford does not have the necessary front-line experience.
Mr Tait has told the Upper House inquiry into the ambulance service that one of their own should be in charge, as with the police and firefighters.
"I've been an ambulance officer for 35 years and the service has best been run by a uniformed head," he told the inquiry.
"The difference today is . . . that when we had a uniformed head we had someone who knew operationally what we were going through on the streets.
"The people we've got administrating us now have absolutely no idea what we do."
Mr Tait was appearing before the inquiry as part of a delegation from the Health Services Union (HSU), which says the service is struggling because of its lack of staff.
Before the HSU's appearance before the inquiry, about 200 uniformed ambulance officers marched on NSW Parliament, calling for at least 300 more staff.
The union said it would give the government 48 hours to come back with a solution to the problem, before discussing what further action it could take.
HSU industrial manager Dennis Ravlich said there had been a rise in staff levels in recent years, but this was still not enough to meet increasing demand.
"It's like having a rugby league team on the field, the ambulance service back in 2000 only had five players on the field," he told the inquiry.
"There is no doubt that they've put another five players on the field, but we're still short."
The inquiry into suicide, bullying and harassment in the NSW Ambulance Service has received more than 200 submissions.
Mr Ravlich said he did not believe bullying was any more prevalent in the service when compared to similar-sized organisations.
But the main issue was how the NSW Ambulance Service had handled the problem.
"Those who appear to make these complaints have a difficulty in having them resolved," Mr Ravlich said.
He said union members had "no confidence" in the service's administration in dealing with bullying.It was reported about 80 of the ambulance workers who marched outside State Parliament House were from the Hunter region.
NSW Health Services Union spokesman Dennis Ravlich said this was a reflection of the strong concerns held by members in the Hunter about staffing and mismanagement.