A second withdrawal of labour is planned for Saturday by ambulance personnel members of First Union and the Amalgamated Workers Union New Zealand Inc following strikes on Tuesday
St John Deputy Chief Executive Dan Ohs said St John had contingencies in place for ensuring it can respond to emergencies during the strike action.
“While we’re expecting staff numbers on Saturday to be similar to Tuesday’s, it will come with a higher workload volume and more risk to overwhelming available resources.”
“Weekends are when people are engaged in social and recreational activities, such as sports, travel and events, or DIY activities around the house that may lead to them getting injured.
“We’re expecting it to be a particularly busy day for our people, with 19 different events on around the country.
“With many general practices, medical centres and some pharmacies closed over the weekend, we would remind the public that during strike action they can still call 111 or go to their nearest hospital emergency department and get help if they have a medical emergency or a serious injury.
“For non-emergencies we would ask the public to seek advice from Healthline, an urgent care centre or pharmacy first.”
Ohs said St John had confidence in the contingency plans they have put in place alongside its union partners.
“We are focused on safeguarding patients as we head into the second round of industrial action.”
