21 April 2017

Long delay in ambulance funding review putting patients at risk - union

The union representing approximately 1000 ambulance professionals in New Zealand is outraged at excessive delays to the Health Funding Review.

In 2015 Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne commissioned a review into health funding for the ambulance sector.

The review, carried out by businessman Murray Horn, was due to be released in February 2016, yet more than a year later ambulance professionals, who are growing increasingly impatient, are still waiting on the review’s release.

On 13 June 2016 Peter Dunne's Senior Private Secretary Elliot Steel stated that the tentative timeframe for pre­senting the report to Ministers was the end of June 2016.

“This report has been sitting on the Minister lap for months while underfunding is putting our members into risky single crewing situations,” said Ambulance Professionals FIRST coordinator, Lynette Blacklaws.

“Peter Dunne is playing politics while people’s lives are at risk because of underfunding in the ambulance sector.”

“The last we heard the Ministry of Health was consulting ACC over the review. But how long do they need?”

“Ambulance Professionals have been getting on with the work and so should the Minister, especially when lives are at stake.”

ENDS

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