Volunteer ambulance officer of almost 50 years stood down amid investigation

Volunteer ambulance officers in a country South Australian town have walked out in protest at one of their peers being stood down, raising concerns about the local service's future.

Pinnaroo local and volunteer Rob Berlin was stood down last week after giving his time to the South Australian Ambulance Service (SAAS) for almost 50 years.

Some volunteer members of the local service, based 240 kilometres east of Adelaide and servicing a population of about 760 people, have made themselves unavailable for rostering in support.

The ABC has made several attempts to contact Mr Berlin, but he has not responded.

An anonymous social media post, which has been circulated widely, detailed the allegations against Mr Berlin, describing them as "administrative" and criticising SAAS's action.

An SAAS spokesperson said while they were aware of the concerns that have been raised publicly, information circulating online does not reflect the facts of the situation.

They said they were unable to comment on confidential individual matters.

"However, we are committed to ensuring any allegations are investigated fairly and in accordance with our rigorous policies and procedures," the spokesperson said.

The service situation

The Pinnaroo ambulance station relies on volunteers to operate and they work closely alongside the Lameroo station, which is about 40 kilometres away.

Collectively the two stations respond to fewer than 10 jobs a week on average, SAAS said.

Southern Mallee District Council mayor Ron Valentine said he had met with community members and the local state member of parliament about the ambulance station and its operation in recent days.

He said various community members had questioned the "legitimacy and transparency" of the allegations when speaking with him.

Cr Valentine said other ambulance volunteers had told him they had also decided to not make themselves available to be rostered in support of Mr Berlin, and would only return if the state government committed to an independent investigation into the dispute.

"In my view, you can't have a truly independent investigation if you're part of the issue," Cr Valentine said.

"One of the problems is as volunteers, they don't really have any representation. There's no union standing up for them."

Vital volunteers

MacKillop MP Jason Virgo said he would write to the relevant minister asking for an independent investigation to be established after meeting Pinnaroo locals.

He said the largest challenge is that volunteers are difficult to find.

"If you've got Pinnaroo down in terms of volunteers, and if they're not feeling heard, the concern is that … the feeling might get out there in the community and we might not be able to replace them either,"

Mr Virgo said.

"If Lameroo is understaffed and can't help Pinnaroo or if Pinnaroo's got no volunteers, then the closest you're going to is the Riverland or south to Bordertown through black spots."

The SA Ambulance spokesperson said the organisation had put in arrangements to support local coverage while volunteer availability was down, including bringing on an additional volunteer from outside the town.

"We can reassure the community we are strongly committed to providing Pinnaroo with ongoing ambulance services and upholding the highest standards for the benefit of the community," the spokesperson said.