Public funds new ambulances for St John

  • 02/08/2015
St John Ambulance (File)
St John Ambulance (File)

More than $2 million from the public has been raised toward 12 new ambulances to be distributed across the country this year.

The significant amount was raised through the St John annual appeal, and St John is humbled by the generosity, according to the New Zealand Herald.

The new models will cost $200,000 each to buy and set-up, but will provide more space and modern defibrillators and other new technology.

The ambulances will be deployed equally to northern, central and south regions.

St John's head of operational support Murray Holt told NZ Herald St John expects to need more vehicles on the road in the next two years than they ever have before.

He said on-going fundraising from the public is never taken for granted.

St John replaces around 35 out of 700 ambulances a year from its fleet. A front-line ambulance lasts eight years or 440,000km.

Last year St John ambulances cared for 425,000 patients with 696 ambulances travelling a combined 19.3 million kilometres.

3 News