Ambulance service faces more pressure

DEMAND: The number of call-outs across Northland is on the rise. PHOTO/FILE

Growing demand for ambulances in Northland is putting increasing pressure on the service.

The number of incidents attended by St John in Northland increased each year in the past six years to 15,605 callouts in 2014.

In Whangarei, the number of St John attendances increased from 8177 in 2009 to 10,074 last year. In the Mid North, there were 2862 attendances in 2009, compared to 3470 last year, and in the Far North, there were 1820 attendances in 2009, compared to 2061 last year.

St John acting district operations manager for Northland Ben Lockie said demand on resources was ever increasing.

"Northland has an increasingly ageing population and a growing population," he said. "In the seasonal and holiday period, there's always a significant increase in our workload. We've taken on extra staff to meet demand and during peak times, we put on extra crews."

People calling ambulances when their health concerns could be dealt with by their primary health carer was another issue, he said.

"Part of our increasing workload is from an increase in calls that don't need an ambulance. We're doing a lot of work at the moment around educating people around when and when not to call ambulances."

The Northland team was fully staffed but always needed more volunteers, particularly in rural areas, he said.

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

The service increasingly needing to be a "jack of all trades" 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.

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

Further Government support wouldn't go astray, he said.

"The fire service and police are fully funded by the Government. We're equal in our position in the community so we should be fully funded for the benefit of the public."