Almost $800 for an ambulance ride "around the corner" to hospital has amazed a 71-year-old woman.
Kathleen Carroll, on holiday from Ireland, came down with a chest infection while visiting her daughter in Invercargill last month. When she had difficulty breathing, her daughter called the Healthline for advice and the operator called an ambulance.
"I was treated very well by the paramedics and taken to hospital," Carroll said. "I was discharged that night after treatment and I'm fine now."
But a few days later, she received a bill in the post for $769. By comparison $769 would get you from central Auckland to Turangi by taxi, a staff member at Mt Roskill company Cheap Cabs said.