St John Ambulance faces pressure as Covid-19 cases rise

The country’s only public ambulance service is under pressure as the number of the Covid-19 cases continue to increase in the National Capital District, an official says.
Apart from maintaining the normal ambulance services, St John Ambulance was responsible for transporting Covid-19 patients from home and between health facilities, chief executive officer Matt Cannon said.
“We are feeling significant pressure in terms of ambulance cases,” he said.
“Due to the degree of decontamination required, it is essential ambulances are thoroughly decontaminated between patients. We have brought in more ambulances and we have rostered on extra ambulance officers, but we are seeing that the demand for emergency services exceeds what is available.”
Cannon said there would be longer waiting times for ambulances during this period as the response to the Covid-19 emergency took up the service’s available resources.
“We ask people to be patient, kind and respectful towards our staff,” he said.
Cannon said more people were tuning up for testing at the drive-thru testing facility facilitated by SJA at the Taurama Aquatic Centre.