KEY POINTS:
A man nearly choked to death because emergency paramedic back-up was unavailable, while crisis talks between paramedics and St John executives have exposed more problems within the ambulance service.
Three national managers met a small group of current and former staff in Rotorua last week to discuss problems - and admitted they were unaware of the extent of the issues.
But in the middle of the meeting, a single-crewed ambulance was sent to an emergency where a man's dental plate became lodged in his throat, and he was unable to breathe. The ambulance officer, who had never worked by herself before, called for urgent back-up, but was told there was no help available.
Tom Francis, a paramedic with 30 years' experience who recently resigned from St John, attended the meeting and said senior management were clearly unaware of what was happening at grassroots level. "They were totally blown away and ironically while they were talking to us, this occurred, the stuff we were raising happened right then and there," he said.
Midland region CEO Eddie Jackson, national HR director Tom Dodd and operations manager Keven Tate were at the meeting.
"Eddie's lip was on the floor and the other two were gobsmacked with what they were hearing."
Other serious allegations raised at the meeting were:
* Control room incompetence resulting in long delays in ambulances getting to emergencies.
* Shortages of ambulances and staff resulting in the deterioration of patients' conditions.
* Inappropriate use of rescue helicopters.
* Staff complaints to OSH, of unsafe working environments, blocked by management.
* Significant amounts of money spent on legal advice for staff mediation and out-of-court settlements.
* The absence of an advanced paramedic in Whakatane for several months.
As a result of the meeting, another advanced paramedic will bolster the Rotorua ranks in mid-April but Jackson said more work was under way to resolve the situation.
Dodd said Jackson and Midlands operations manager Brent Neilson were being given support to "address some issues which had been brought to our attention".
The closed door meeting held in Rotorua on Wednesday was called after the Herald on Sunday reported a string of incidents in which emergency services have been short-staffed:
* A volunteer was told to drive her own car to an emergency.
* A rescue helicopter was sent without paramedics to a bus crash in Tokoroa, in which 17 Korean tourists were injured.
* Rotorua was left without a Life Support Unit because officers were sent to Taupo for the Iron Man event.
* Hamilton was without an ambulance in the city for an hour on the night the volunteer was asked to use her own car.
Friends and families of patients have also been asked to drive ambulances to hospitals in "desperate situations" when short-staffed ambulances are unable to cope with emergencies. Police and firefighters have also been asked to take the wheel. Up to 15 per cent of callouts are attended by a sole officer, a practice considered clinically unsafe.
The ambulance officers' union plans to request a public inquiry into ambulance services.
