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Paramedic petition falls short, but town growth keeps Mangawhai on radar

 

 

A community petition which began two years ago with an aim to increase ambulance workers in Mangawhai, has finally completed its journey through the parliamentary system, though with bittersweet results.

Details of Ministry of Health (MoH) and the Health Committee’s responses to the ‘St John Ambulance Petition’, which sought to get fully paid paramedics to service the towns growing population, can now be viewed on the government website, petition initiator, Marion Pilmer says.

“Although we are disappointed at the result and discrepancies found in the report, we feel that this was a great accomplishment for Mangawhai, to have our petition heard by the Health Committee with two of our group participating by Zoom,” she says. “Once again we wish to thank the public for their support given during this slow process. I do believe that we have made inroads, even if small.”

In response, the MoH and Health Committee acknowledged the complexities of providing ambulance services in smaller communities and rural regions with less frequent call-outs and longer travel times, as well as the important contribution ambulance staff and volunteers make to their communities. Both organisations also commended the Mangawhai community for their fundraising efforts which helped construct the new ambulance station.

In their statement, MoH say their focus is always on safety, providing appropriate services and ensuring the best clinical outcomes for patients, and believe Mangawhai is well served by St John and did not see evidence that any current change was required, saying ‘the workload in Mangawhai is only now approaching 15 percent utilisation… the rate at which St John would begin considering permanently staffing a station’.

The Health Committee thanked the petitioners ‘for bringing this issue to our attention’ as ‘it has provided an opportunity for discussions between the petitioner and the Ministry of Health, and that the ministry has offered to compile information on utilisation rates and population growth in Mangawhai’.

The committee said they hoped these discussions would continue, with a view to providing much greater clarity for the petitioner and the Mangawhai community about the circumstances under which St John would consider stationing paid ambulance staff at Mangawhai.

Regarding Mangawhai’s large visitor numbers over the summer months, the committee said they are ‘pleased to hear that St John has added paid staff in recent years over the

holiday period, to help manage seasonal demand’, as well as noting the emergency support of the local fire brigade and locally based ‘PRIME services’ (Primary Response in Medical Emergencies).

Pilmer says the Health Committee seems ‘well aware’ of the situation which they have ‘promised’ to monitor closely as Mangawhai’s population continues its rapid growth.

“According to the findings, at present Mangawhai is on the verge of being at a level requiring the need for more servicing by St John and we will be ensuring that they keep to that promise,” she says. “I would just like to quote a recent comment made by Mayor Smith on boundaries: ‘Mangawhai, Kaiwaka and Oruawhero make up one half of Kaipara’s population which has one volunteer ambulance service and two councillors, while the other half enjoys two paid 24/7 ambulance service and seven councillors’. Where is the justice! Is Mangawhai being undervalued?”

n To read the Report of the Health Committee in full, go to parliament.nz and enter search ‘marion pilmer, final report’.

 

“I do believe that we have made inroads, even if small.”

- Marion Pilmer


 
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