The following comments are in response to questions from Iain MacKay, a Head Delegate from Wellington Free Ambulance on behalf of CAWU.

• Do you share the view of ambulance officers that all emergency ambulances should be staffed with two qualified ambulance officers?
• Do you believe that ambulance services muct be adequately resourced and able to comply with NZTA work time regulations?
• Do you believe that by comparison the response time requirements in NZ are too low and should be the same as other developed countries?

(1) Full Crewing of Emergency Ambulances

Yes, the Green Party supports compulsory double-crewing for all emergency callouts, and Green MP Sue Kedgley has publicly called for this a number of times.

(2) New Zealand Transport Authority

Driver fatigue is one of the most under-recognised causes of road accidents in New Zealand. We support adequately funding ambulance services so that ambulance crew can work within the NZTA regulations for length of time driving without a break.

(3) Response Time requirements

We support moving towards requiring 75% of ambulance journeys to meet the 8-minute response time, and setting funding based on the need to meet that target.

Other issues covered by Green Party policy on ambulance services:

The Green Party will look into replacing the current largely voluntary system with a professional ambulance service that is an integral part of the public health system. We will increase funding for the provision of ambulance services, and integrate funding into one single provider. Other ambulance-related policies we have are:

● Ensure mandatory minimum national qualification standards for paramedics and ambulance officers
● Establish and provide a national training programme for all paramedics and ambulance officers
● Require paramedics to be regulated under the Health Professionals Competency Act
● Encourage ambulance staff to treat people where appropriate on site rather than incentivised to transport all patients to hospital.
● Encourage paramedics to be registered to dispense essential medications for emergencies.