Select Committee not silver bullet for ambulances

St John Media Release: _Health Select Committee not a ‘silver bullet’ for Ambulance Service funding

St John has responded positively to the recently announced Health Select Committee inquiry into Ambulance Services but is “hopeful it will not delay the need to address funding requirements for Ambulance Services”, St John Chief Executive Jaimes Wood said today.

“We welcome the Health Select Committee inquiry, but we are concerned that some may see it as a silver bullet,” Mr Wood said.

“The reality is that the Select Committee will take some time to conduct their inquiry. As we understand authorities, the Select Committee also has no power to direct the government; rather it will report to Parliament with findings and recommendations. The government must then respond within 90 days – which could mean a further delay of up to three months.”

St John has been advocating for some time for an increase in funding of Ambulance Services to address the constant growth in demand and to address current service gaps. This includes the need for further resourcing to fully (double) crew emergency ambulances, Mr Wood said.

“Many of our recent funding-focussed negotiations have resulted in requests from the government for additional reports into Ambulance sector funding and delivery. I believe all the information required to make sensible long-term funding decisions for the sector have already been provided, and hope the government will not wait for the results of the Health Select Committee inquiry.”

Recent studies and reports which St John has participated in include:
* The development and current review of the Ambulance Standard
* A Gap Analysis of the Ambulance Service Sector, conducted by Ambulance New Zealand across all the Ambulance services
* The Sustainable Funding Review of the Ambulance sector.

“St John delivers and remains committed to providing a high quality Ambulance Service to the people of New Zealand,” Mr Wood said.

ENDS

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