Update Monday 29 April – Total sitting at an amazing $19,370 – excess funds will go towards funding future paramedic roles.

Two weeks to raise $14,000 for qualified Paramedic cover for Aotea’s Ambulance

Update as of 29 April at 10am from Great Barrier Island Community Health Trust

The Paramedic Fund sits at $19,370.00

The Health Trust is holding the excess in their account for future Paramedic Funding.

An amazing effort from everyone! Thank you Aotea!

Last issue, we covered volunteer paramedic Adam Johnston’s urgent call for change to ensure the island’s ambulance service is sustainable. Over 60 people attended a hui at the Barrier Social Club on Saturday, to show their support for this life-saving service.

Here is a summary of the discussion:

Essentially Adam has been volunteering as a paramedic for 15 years, but he can no longer sustain this.

Short Term Issue

Adam is not available for two months starting from early May and we need to pay a paramedic to come over to the island to cover him. We currently have two amazing St Johns ambulance volunteers but what we’re missing is a qualified paramedic to work with them.

This requires $14,000. There is no St Johns funding available, as the island does not reach the threshold to receive funding for wages, so we (as in the community) need to raise the funds within the next two weeks.

If we can’t afford the cost of a locum paramedic, then we may not have an ambulance service while Adam is away (although of course we’ll still have our after-hours doctors and nurses who can attend any emergency).

Donations can be made to:

The Great Barrier Island Community Health Trust

Bank account: 12-3011-0531871-00

Reference: Paramedic

As someone at the meeting said, if 1,000 people give just $14, we’re there!

Longer term, the proposal is to create a new role – a “community paramedic” – someone who does more than just the ambulance. In other words, they manage the ambulance but are also able to assist with primary care in the community. This would require funding of 40 hours per week, with a total cost of between $105,000 and $120,000 per annum. Funding would need to be sourced and managed by a local trust. This could be an existing trust, or a new one could be set up.

But for now, our focus is on the $14,000. If anyone can raise the money, we can!

Let’s go for it.