Ambulance call-outs on rise

Hawke's Bay St John Ambulance have had more work during the past five years. Photo / File

The number of incidents requiring St John ambulances in Hawke's Bay each year has increased by almost 2000 in the past five years.

In 2010, the service attended 14,797 incidents. In 2011, it increased to 15,879 incidents and 15,522 incidents in 2012. In 2013, it attended 16,042 incidents.

Last year, the service attended 16,653 incidents in the Heretaunga territory, which includes Napier, Hastings, Waipukurau and Porangahau.

St John Heretaunga territory manager Brendon Hutchinson said there were likely to be multiple reasons for the increase.

"I can't tie it down to any one thing," he said.

"We're getting busier, we know that by the figures and what we're seeing every day.

"It could be the ageing population, but you can't blame it on the ageing population. The jobs we're going to are across the board."

A part of the increased workload was treating more people at home, he said.

"We take each case on its merit. If we don't think the person needs to go to hospital, we won't take them to hospital.

"If asthmatics are stable for instance, we can deal with them at home provided they meet a checklist and then we'll make sure they follow up with their GP the next day."

The service also focused on ensuring people were treated in the community where necessary.

"If an alternative pathway is appropriate we might take the person to a GP or other health provider because not everyone needs to go to emergency departments."

New Zealand Ambulance Association chairman Mark Quin said a huge challenge lay ahead.

"In some respects, I think we're just putting our finger on the dam at the moment," he said.

"We're putting in all these initiatives but I don't know if we're reacting quick enough.

"The elderly population is growing dramatically every year so I can't see demand stopping any time soon."

The service was increasingly needing to be a "jack of all trades" and this was also putting pressure on the system, he said.

"Often we're the default [healthcare provider] - especially in weekends and after hours.

"In some cases, people are unable to access a GP, so they call an ambulance.

"Others might have an appointment in three days but want to be seen sooner so they call an ambulance, even though the problem's only minor.

"Another increasingly big area of work is mental health. It's another area that lacks services, particularly after hours and during weekends."

Mr Quin said St John had put more crews on in response to demand - but more resources would only ease the problem to a certain extent.

"While we need to work alongside other health professionals to provide care, it's not really what we're contracted to do.

"We're meant to be responding to emergencies."

More government support wouldn't go astray, however, Mr Quin said.

"We're equal in our position in the community so we should be fully funded for the benefit of the public."

NZME.