The amalgamation this year of St John's two southern regions will not see any job losses at St John in Otago or Southland, but some senior management may find themselves with new roles.
But it will be another few weeks before staff are made aware of the exact details of the new management structure.
The southern region (SI), which covers Otago and Southland, and the northern region (SI), which covers Canterbury, Tasman and the West Coast, will merge to create one expanded South Island region by July 1.
The new region will have one board and one management structure, with David Thomas as its general manager.
At present, Mr Thomas is the northern region's (SI) general manager.
St John chief executive Jaimes Wood said Mr Thomas was based in Christchurch, where St John SI's head office was likely to be located in the final structure, but the Dunedin office would remain open.
No-one would lose their job and there would be no changes to the front line, although some people in management roles would be reassigned to new positions which better reflected the changing needs of the community St John served.
Southern region (SI) general manager Gary Williams would be one of those with a new role.
Staff were briefed on the pending merger last year, but would have to wait another few weeks for the full details of what, or where, their new jobs would be.
The two regional governance boards would also become one.
Further details on that were also pending.
Cost-cutting was not the reason for the merger, Mr Wood said.
Rather, the move was being made in order to use the organisation's resources in a more efficient way.
"We want to make sure the community gets the best service possible."
St John's North Island Central and Midland regional offices were amalgamated last year.
St John raised its ambulance service patient part-charges from January 1.
The increase was the first in 10 years, and reflected the need to meet increased costs and usage, Mr Wood said.
In Otago and Southland the charge rose from $54 to $67.
The part-charge applies to ambulance attendance and/or transport for medical emergencies, as well as accident-related injuries older than 24 hours.
