Emergency services

Hands said, as an emergency response organisation Fire and Emergency NZ has always had contingency plans in place, so they can respond.

‘‘On any given day we could get multiple incidents occurring at the same time. That’s what we plan for and why we have contingency plans in place.

‘‘Right through the Covid-19 pandemic we’ve planned for how we could respond to different scenarios and continue to keep our communities safe. We have confidence in the contingency plans we have in place and will continue to adapt them as needed.’’

He said examples of contingency plans include support from neighbouring brigades, relocation of resources, recruitment, and a range of other tools.

St John South Canterbury area operations manager, Darryn Grigsby, said despite the added challenges, the ambulance service had continued to step forward during the pandemic.

‘‘We have been fortunate to have received a boost in staffing levels in recent years, which has given us greater capability to maintain and continue our usual level of service since the pandemic began, but more importantly, since the Covid-19 Omicron variant was first confirmed in the community,’’ Grigsby said.

‘‘However, it still has been a challenging time for our teams – both with increased demand and having additional Covid-19 health and safety requirements.

‘‘We know each shift is busy, and it is uncomfortable and hot wearing personal protective equipment routinely with each patient.’’

Grigsby said while they continue to see a steady number of Covid-19 positive and suspected cases in the community, to date St John South Canterbury have only had six staff members contract Covid-19 and need to isolate.

‘‘Where we have had times of staff illness, including from Covid-19, and might need to cover a shift, we will typically call upon unrostered or off duty ambulance officers,’’ he said.

‘‘Non-operational staff have been able to work from home where possible during the pandemic.’’