Ambulance unions welcome inquiry into ambulance service

The Federation of Ambulance Unions (FAOUNZ) has been working for over seven years to promote awareness of the problems within the Ambulance Service. We have submitted a 60,000 strong petition to Parliament, met with politicians and presented submissions to the Health Select Committee to request a wide ranging inquiry into the Ambulance Service.

FAOUNZ member unions; the National Distribution Union and the Amalgamated Workers Unions; have recently worked with other groups to further highlight growing concerns about public, patient and Paramedic safety due to inadequate levels of funding, governance and other systemic failings.

FAOUNZ has identified problems with the crewing of emergency ambulances, specifically the over reliance on volunteers, the lack of higher level clinical staff in some areas and the use of single crewed ambulances in rural and provincial centres. Single crewed ambulances negatively impact on patient care and are overused by Ambulance Service providers as a standard means to crew ambulances.

Other areas of concern include the adequacy of vehicle coverage, the lack of professional registration, inadequately equipped vehicles to meet the varied geographic terrain, the education framework, lack of legislation, limited government oversight, performance accountability and the lack of integration into the wider health system and air ambulance network.

We welcome the announcement today that the Health Select Committee will support an inquiry into the Ambulance Service, and look forward to working collectively towards achieving an effective and well resourced Ambulance Service for the benefit of all New Zealanders.

See also: Ambulance Service Overview [PDF]

ENDS

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