St John Media Release

17 October 2007

St John submission calls for significant funding increase for Ambulance

Ambulance services in New Zealand need significantly more funding to ensure the safety of patients and Ambulance Officers, and to meet rising demand, St John Chief Executive Jaimes Wood said today.

St John today presented its submission to the Health Select Committee inquiry into the provision of Ambulance services in New Zealand.

Mr Wood told the Committee that St John would like to see:

 a significant increase in funding for Ambulance services
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 the Government engaging in meaningful forward planning and appropriate contract terms for the Ambulance sector and
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 greater linkages of Ambulance services with the wider health sector.
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St John currently receives funding from the Ministry of Health, ACC and District Health Boards for ambulance operations.

St John itself contributes approximately $8 million a year to its Ambulance operations, and an average of $1.8 million a year to running the Emergency Ambulance Communications Centres.

Together with support from the community, St John also provides the funding for Ambulance capital requirements including Ambulance stations and vehicles.

Mr Wood said St John was seeking additional Government funding to:

 ensure double crewing of emergency ambulances wherever possible
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 employ an additional 400 paid full time equivalent Ambulance Officers over a phased eight year timeframe (but this could be accelerated)
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 ensure all our Ambulance Officers receive the necessary clinical training.
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Mr Wood said that four key issues face Ambulance services in New Zealand:

 Growth in demand for Ambulance services is being driven by a number of factors
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 Services are fundamentally under funded by any comparison with Ambulance jurisdictions in other countries and with other New Zealand emergency services
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 Successive Governments have not applied a strategically planned approach to the funding of the Ambulance sector
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 Single crewed emergency Ambulance responses – particularly in rural areas - place an unfair burden on Ambulance personnel, endanger patient safety, and increase risks around Ambulance Officer personal safety.
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A combination of factors has seen Ambulance demand grow at 6% to 8% per annum consistently over the past 10 years. The low funding base has been increased by the Government in recent years, particularly with additional funding for more paid ambulance officers. “The base is, however, so low that a substantial lift in funding is required to get it to a level which compares with similar emergency services,” Mr Wood said

St John believes the Government should commit now to a funding programme that has Ambulance services funded by $50 per head of population by or before 2015.

“What is required is a commitment to a major funding lift immediately with a further commitment to progressively increase funding each year for a period that moves the under funded base position to a more acceptable level,” Mr Wood said.

“Until the Government does engage fully with the sector and plan to address all issues, both short and long term, St John Ambulance services will increasingly struggle to meet the needs of the communities we serve.”

ends

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