Hato Hone St John received formal notification last week from FIRST Union that members, including both ambulance personnel and Ambulance Communications Centre staff, will withdraw labour for six hours, from the start of their shifts on 27 September, and again on 30 September.
First Union represents around 1,000 ambulance personnel, or around 30 per cent of Hato Hone frontline paid personnel. It is expected up to 175 personnel will participate in strike action during each shift, or approximately 25 percent of on-duty paid personnel.
Due to varying proportions of FIRST Union membership across the country, the impact will differ by region, with the greatest impact expected in Northland, Auckland, Waikato, and Bay of Plenty. Hato Hone anticipate delays in service provision for the full 24-hour period of each strike as they work to manage the backlog of incidents and patient needs.
Life Preserving Services (LPS)
Hato Hone has negotiated and agreed LPS arrangements with FIRST Union. These arrangements will allow them to provide emergency ambulance services to patients with immediately life-threatening conditions and enable urgent patient transfer services during the strike.
Specific details for primary care and urgent care providers
During each 24-hour period of industrial action, it is likely there will be significant delays in responding to incidents or transfers where the patient’s condition is not immediately life-threatening.
Hato Hone recommend the following measures.
For any questions or concerns, please contact nhq.ops@stjohn.org.nz. Thank you for your understanding and support during this challenging time.
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