A report into the suicides of five St John Ambulance paramedics and volunteers found they were not solely triggered by the trauma of the job but a complex set of issues from attending medical emergencies to a lack of support from their employer.
Western Australia's chief psychiatrist's office sought to probe which factors contributed to the deaths of the paramedics and volunteers between December 2013 and March 2015, including being a first responder to emergencies.
"The general belief that ambulance workers have higher rates of suicide than other comparable occupations is one of the issues that the reviewers attempted to investigate," the report read.
St John Ambulance WA chief executive Tony Ahern said the review was important in clarifying that there wasn't one common thread running through the five cases, but it wasn't a matter of validating assumptions or apportioning blame.
"Everyone in the organisation is rocked by these deaths," Mr Ahern said.
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"It's a question of absolutely continually challenging ourselves as to what needs to be done to try to either preferably prevent - if not absolutely minimise - these things ever happening."
James Vaughan, whose sister Marcia was among those who took her own life after working in regional WA, said he was dissatisfied with the 31-page report.
"I think they've sidelined a lot of issues or haven't gone into depth with a lot of issues that they could have," Mr Vaughan told the ABC.
He said his sister was "under-supported by her management", and had suffered from PTSD and bullying in the workplace. "I absolutely sympathise with what James is saying," Mr Ahern responded.
"I can't imagine how he feels - except to say that there are a lot of people in the organisation, both managers and colleagues of Marcia's who are really struggling with all of this as well."
Colleagues of the five people said job satisfaction was high among the workers but their level of satisfaction with the way the system operated was low.
* Anyone seeking support should call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
