Service shake-up details due soon

The southern region is still waiting to find out the outcome of the air ambulance services shake-up as negotiations have started in other regions.

The Ministry of Health and ACC are in the final stages of agreeing a three-year contract with an agency combining the Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust and the Northland Emergency Services Trust.

A separate contract covering the central region, encompassing the remainder of the North Island south of the Counties Manukau District Health Board, is expected to be announced shortly, and an announcement for the southern region, covering all of the South Island, will follow within the next month.

An announcement was initially expected in August.

When asked why there had not been an announcement on other services around the country, a Ministry of Health spokesperson said it issued a press release in August saying it would begin to make announcements in late September.

The National Ambulance Sector Offices (NASO) has proposed that rescue helicopters should be based out of eight coastal cities – but not in Te Anau, Taupo¯ or Rotorua, and that only twin-engined helicopters are used.

In Southland, the Te Anau base would

‘‘We are all on edge and the community needs certainty around the future of the air ambulance service.’’ Clutha-Southland MP Hamish Walker

be axed and the service would instead be covered from a base in Queenstown under the proposal.

Heliworks in Queenstown, Otago Helicopters in Dunedin and Garden City Helicopters in Christchurch have formed a company to bid for a contract to cover the whole of the South Island under the new proposal.

Clutha-Southland MP Hamish Walker said the delay in announcing the new model was ‘‘just another kick in the guts for rural people and rural health services’’.

‘‘We are all on edge and the community needs certainty around the future of the air ambulance service. The Te Anau Rescue Helicopter service plays a critical part in rural health care in Southland and Fiordland and has saved a countless amount of lives over the years.’’

The new northern region service is expected to begin later this year or early next year.