A 74-year-old man with heart problems collapsed on a Dunedin golf course and was told it could be up to three hours until an ambulance reached him.
David Cameron, of Dunedin, said he was at Island Park Golf Club in Waldronville when he felt lethargic and had a dizzy spell, falling from the trundler where he had been sitting.
Witnesses who watched him fall called 111, but ultimately took him to Dunedin Hospital themselves.
St John has now apologised for the incident, saying all available ambulances were tied up when Mr Cameron lost consciousness about 2pm last Wednesday.
Mr Cameron said it was fortunate he had friends and his brother on hand.
They dialled 111 and then drove him to hospital after hearing how long it would take for an ambulance to arrive.
Mr Cameron said he believed St John was not to blame but a lack of funding was.
His son, Paul Cameron, also of Dunedin, said he was concerned by the incident as his father did not like to complain but had a history of heart problems, including a heart attack just 18 months ago.
His father lost consciousness twice between when St John was called and his arrival at the emergency department.
The waiting times were astounding, and he could not understand how the service was not fully funded, he said.
He believed the ambulance system needed an overhaul as the pressure would only get worse when winter hit.
As a father himself, one of his worst fears was calling for help for one of his children and no-one showing up, he said.
St John coastal Otago area operations manager Doug Third said due to the widespread community outbreak of Covid-19 the ambulance service was experiencing the highest number of calls in its history.
Mr Cameron’s condition was coded as serious but not immediately life-threatening, so the caller was asked to arrange private transportation if possible and call back if the condition worsened.
St John was sorry that its service fell below expectations and encouraged Mr Cameron to get in touch directly if he was unhappy with his care.
The service was grateful for extra pandemic-related funding it had received from the Government and was hopeful the current round of talks with funders regarding a new four-year emergency services contract would provide long-term sustainability, he said.
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Comments
If the problem is funding like these residents believe then Its time to take note how others fund their Ambulance service. In Queensland Australia for example the service had the same funding issues. The solution was to place a small compulsary levie on the electricity imvoices of all households and businesses (approx $15 Bi Monthly). Everybody then had automatic Ambulance cover and the service had all the funds it needed. And I must say it was a excellent solution. Another point is that I would like to see the figures on actually how many non members of St John use the service and don't pay when the bill arrives. I would no doubt be astonished. If you want a funded Ambulance service do your selves a favour to help and adopt a St John membership.
For the scheme you talk about to be implemented, then it would have to be run directly by the govt.
You cannot force the public to subscribe to a compulsory fee to go to a private provider of a service nor one that puts in for a contract to provide it.
The scheme you advocate is how the fire service in NZ is funded = via insurance levies on those who have insurance.
If FENZ were to take over the ambulance service (being talked about) then that or a similar levy could be extended or implemented.
In Queensland from 2003, the QAS was funded by your electricity bill.
In 2009, the amount payable was a flat fee of over $100 annually.
From 2011 funding is now directly provided by the Queensland govt.
Despite what people say, St John cannot enforce the part charge for non accident emergencies as no contract can be entered into over the phone during an emergency 111 call.
25% don't pay, in some poor areas, higher.
Mr Cameron, you & 99% others do not know, that the ambulance service in NZ is done by contract.
The govt fully funds that agreed to by those private organisations (like St John) who tender.
The govt would love to run the service themselves but average joe public love their charity running the service.
You can't have it both ways.