KEY POINTS:
Volunteer firefighters frustrated by frequent calls to help St John staff lift patients may start refusing to respond to such calls.
Whakatane Chief Fire Officer Ken Clark thinks many of the volunteers will soon choose not to turn up at the station if the words "ambulance assist" scroll across their pagers.
He says they are sick of being called to non-fire-related incidents.
"Only a couple of weeks ago we were called twice in one day to help St John staff lift a large person who had fallen from their chair," Mr Clark said.
"There was no medical emergency, [the person] just couldn't get up."
When a fire truck leaves the station it must go with a minimum of four firefighters on board unless permission has been gained from fire communications to attend with a smaller crew.
"It's not just the cost of taking the engine out," Mr Clark said.
"There is also the cost to the employer who has a volunteer as a staff member as each callout is a minimum of 30 minutes away from the job."
He says employers around the region were ultimately paying for a service the health sector should be responsible for.
Mr Clark said he had begun talks with the Fire Service and hoped to set up a meeting with a district health board representative to take his concerns further.
"I know St John Ambulance are able to charge patients who have needed help but I can't understand why they can pocket the money while we [the Fire Service] are carrying a lot of the load."
He is worried Whakatane volunteers will stop responding to patient lifts and says if this happens, a truck from Ohope or Edgecumbe would be called to help.
"If it is a genuine fire call then that is a different matter but to continually drag guys away from their job or their family to help lift someone up, help put them on a stretcher or carry them to an ambulance - it's not good enough," Mr Clark said.
He does not believe plans by St John to increase paramedic coverage in Whakatane will help with the issue.
"I don't think I have ever been to a patient lift where an advanced paramedic has been there too."
St John regional operations manager Brent Nielsen disagrees.
"The appointment of two advanced paramedics in addition to the three-person rotating roster already in place will ensure the Whakatane community is well served by St John," Mr Nielsen said.
Ambulance staff had a great relationship with the Fire Service and worked with them at emergencies, accidents and fires.
"I don't have any specifics on patient lifts," Mr Nielsen said.
Fire Service statistics analyst Gary Quigan said figures for callouts to help St John were not definitive.
- DAILY POST
