A government minister has waded into a debate about staffing at Queenstown's ambulance service.
A Radio New Zealand report said yesterday St John Wakatipu was stretched and might need as many as 25 more staff.
The report quoted St John Southland Lakes operations manager, Invercargill-based Pauline Buchanan, as saying the organisation was discussing extra funding with the Government.
But Associate Minister of Health Peter Dunne said the story ''is not representative of the real picture in Queenstown''.
In what was clearly a co-ordinated response, the same words were issued in a statement quoting Ms Buchanan.
Mr Dunne said by email: ''The Queenstown community can be assured that the ambulance service provided by St John is appropriate and is dedicated to the care of patients in the region.''
He said St John's workload in Queenstown did not justify extra staff year-round. Staff levels were boosted during busy periods, such as winter and at New Year.
''In short, staff levels and ambulance resource levels are appropriate and they are reviewed constantly,'' Mr Dunne wrote.
Ms Buchanan was not available for interview yesterday. St John refused to comment beyond a written statement that echoed Mr Dunne's words.
St John staff could not immediately respond to a skydive accident in Queenstown last month because the two ambulances on duty were already committed to other jobs.
Also, a skydive company employee drove the ambulance because both St John crew were attending to the injured man.
The Otago Daily Times has been told it is not unusual for fire volunteers or police to drive ambulances if patients are critically injured.
An emergency services insider, who would not be named, said delays in attending accidents were uncommon in Queenstown.
Mr Dunne said ''performance data'' from Queenstown showed the service was operating very effectively and well above target.
