St John is pleased to announce it has significantly increased the number of full-time staff in Otamatea by recruiting seven additional ambulance officers.
The new staff recently started their roles and are already making a difference to patients in Maungaturoto, Kaiwaka and beyond. St John is also pleased to be boosting its response capability with a brand new First Response Unit, coming in July.
In May 2017, the Government announced increased funding to gradually end the single crewing of emergency ambulances in New Zealand over a period of four years. New Zealand was the only first world ambulance service with single crewed ambulance responses – something it had been doing up to 100 times a day across the country.
“Ending single crewing is one of the most significant developments in our ambulance service history,” says St John Chief Executive Peter Bradley.
Adding paid staff in Otamatea means the ambulance will now be available 24/7 and ensures patients get the best available care when they need it. It also enhances the safety and wellbeing of St John’s dedicated ambulance staff. Double crewing benefits patients, especially in rural areas where it means they receive clinical care while being driven to hospital – something that couldn’t be done with single crewing. It makes the job safer for our ambulance officers and helps reduce fatigue, manual handling injuries and stress.
Since the announcement, St John has been working with local communities and its people on the ground to find the best approach in each area and it is pleased to increase availability of services and address single crewing in the area. With the addition of staff in Otamatea, the project has now completed its second year, having employed 147 new ambulance officers across 44 stations and reducing the incidence of single crewing by almost 2,000 responses per month.
"We're very excited to be able to add so much additional resource in Otamatea. We’ve employed a fantastic group of people and they’re already making a real difference," says St John Territory Manager – Rodney, Blake Murray.
Volunteers will still play a critical role in providing ambulance services in the area, crewing the new First Response Unit, to build resilience. If Maungaturoto, Paparoa or Kaiwaka residents are interested in volunteering, please visit join.stjohn.org.nz or call 0800 ST JOHN.
"We’re really keen to see the First Response Unit come into service in the coming months, to improve our response and resilience in the area,” says Mr Murray.
One thing that hasn’t changed is St John’s charity status and it still needs the support of New Zealanders through donations and part charges for emergency ambulance services.