UP to eight paramedics were doing office jobs in Cairns' regional headquarters on Monday when a student paramedic was left in charge of the entire Cardwell area, a Queensland Ambulance source has said.

The source told The Cairns Post an increasingly "top-heavy" ambulance service was to blame for causing a "potentially life-threatening" situation.

Queensland Ambulance Service Far Northern assistant commissioner Peter Cahill yesterday described Monday’s rostering of an unqualified paramedic to a seven-hour solo shift in the Cardwell district south of Tully as "not ideal".

"But our regular officer called in sick 20 minutes before the shift and it put us in a situation where we needed to find someone very quickly, we tried a number of staff members and the officer available to assist us was the student paramedic," Mr Cahill said after receiving a briefing on the incident.

The worried Queensland Ambulance source, who did not want to be named, said there were "any number" of qualified paramedics working in off-road jobs from management to training on Monday. The source said several were officers-in-charge whose positions had included on-road duties until about six months ago.

"We’re short-staffed but we’re also top-heavy and for one-off occasions qualified people could cover a position," the source said.

Mr Cahill confirmed the student paramedic usually worked under supervision.

He said other ambulance officers would have "been doing their roles at their stations".

"We have certain numbers of staff to meet demand at certain stations. When these staff are busy doing their work, it is sometimes a bit tricky to relocate them," he said.

Ambulance Employers Association’s Bob Lackey described Monday’s situation as risky for both the student paramedic and the public with the nearest paramedics 44km from Cardwell at Tully.

Emergency Services defended the student as one who has worked with the QAS for more than two years and is expected to be an advanced care paramedic by December.

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