Timaru ambulance stolen, taken for joyride while staff prepared patient

• A Timaru ambulance was stolen mid-shift while staff prepared a patient for transfer.
• Pro+Med EMS Trust owner Don Gutsell called the theft “shocking and frustrating”.
• The vehicle was recovered using a tracking app; police inquiries are ongoing.

A Timaru-based ambulance was stolen mid-shift while medical staff were preparing a patient for urgent transfer to Christchurch Hospital.

Pro+Med EMS Trust owner and operator Don Gutsell said the theft was “shocking and frustrating”.

The ambulance was taken around midnight on Tuesday from outside Timaru Hospital.

“We were loading a patient on to a stretcher in the ED to take to Christchurch… and the bloody ambulance isn’t there,” Gutsell said.

“My heart just dropped.”

The ProMed ambulance was stolen from outside Timaru hospital while a patient was awaiting a transfer. Photo / Supplied

A seasoned paramedic with decades of experience, Gutsell said the ambulance had been left running to warm the rear compartment as it was a “bloody cold foggy night”.

While he and his team prepared the patient, someone allegedly took the opportunity to drive off with the vehicle.

“I said to myself, ‘Oh s**t, I didn’t put the handbrake on’, because there’s a slight decline down to the road,” he said.

“So we had a look - no ambulance. I rang the cops and said, ‘I think the ambulance has been stolen’.”

Gutsell’s wife was able to track the vehicle using a tracking app on his phone that was left inside.

Police were notified of the vehicle’s location and Gutsell was driven by hospital nurses to recover it.

“The guy never took anything, never did any damage,” he said, though the offender had disappeared by the time they arrived.

“The cops wanted to do some forensics on it, but I said, ‘I want to get this patient to Christchurch’.”

They completed the transfer and returned at 8am, despite the hour-and-a-half delay due to the theft.

Gutsell said this was a first for him.

“I’ve had gear stolen from our vehicle when we parked up at a job, but I’ve never had a vehicle stolen,” he said.

“Being a little independent operator, we pay for everything. We don’t get money like the big ones do from the government.”

The ambulance, which is vital for Pro+Med’s work in the South Canterbury region, is part of a small, independently-run operation.

“We’re not on a regular user-pay system, so when something like that happens, it’s just... Jesus,” Gutsell said.

As for how the thief managed to access the vehicle, Gutsell believes it was an opportunistic act.

“He just sneaked in while the vehicle was running.”

He says the incident has prompted changes to their procedures.

“We just won’t leave the truck running again,” he said.

Police confirmed they were called about 12.55am on May 13 to a Queen St address after a report of a vehicle being stolen.

The vehicle was located abandoned about 20 minutes later and returned to the victim, they said.

Inquiries into the circumstances are ongoing.