St John to Lose Emergency Service Role? FENZ Quashes Rumour Amid Negotiations; St John Admits It Is Stretched.
This article examines the future of Christchurch's ambulance services, and threats made by a Justice of the Peace linked to Minister Megan Woods to quell the rumours of a shift to the fire service
Night closed in on the two-storey house. We sat in his kitchen and studied a map of Christchurch on a laptop. The longtime Justice of the Peace showed me his walkie talkies and explained the devices let him listen to the fire and ambulance services going about their business of responding to emergency situations across the city. He also spoke of his involvement and contact with both services and MP for Wigram, Megan Woods.
Pictured: St John and FENZ responding to an incident at intersection of Linwood Avenue and Buckley’s Road in May 2023.
The conversation warmed up. I spoke about my concerns for the city and St John’s ability to respond to emergency calls. My experience had been a mixed bag.
The JP spoke of a plan that would see Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ), not St John, deliver emergency services. My interest in writing up this incredible story drew an angry rebuke. Then came the threats. If I published the story, he would send gang members around to my home or take a drug overdose. We were standing. Fearing for my own safety, I beat a retreat and cantered home.
His tirade had shaken me up. But the story he had spun about St John’s future stayed with me. Was it merely rumour or a fact? With his threats simmering in my mind, I put the story on the backburner.
Weeks passed by before I reached out to St John and FENZ.
Subsequent to my home visit, a family member was affected by a medical situation. My confidence in St John to come when needed or to follow up with a callback was seriously dented by the experience. It reinforced in me the notion St John was struggling to meet the city’s emergency demand, if not stretched beyond capacity.
FENZ is currently renegotiating the terms of the 2014 memorandum with St John. Under that arrangement, FENZ is permitted to support St John in two situations. St John writes:
“A nationwide co-response was introduced in December 2013 for the small number of urgent, time critical incidents (i.e. cardiac and respiratory arrests) amounting to nearly 11 call-outs a day. St John advises NZFS to dispatch a resource to provide additional personnel on scene to assist with patient management and improve their chances of survival.”
St John would also train FENZ to be first responders in “56 rural and remote” locations.
But an incident on Riccarton Road brought doubt to mind about the nature of their working relationship. A homeless man was sitting on a flower display stand in front of the Naresh dairy. He seemed to be under the influence and was struggling to stand up. The female attendant was mortified. Later, her husband told me the Police, the fire service and St John had shown up at separate times. I asked him why the fire service. He didn’t know.
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