Urgent Health Service on the Coast
It was great to be involved in a very special community event on Monday in Paraparaumu with the Minister of Health Tony Ryall.
The event was the celebration of the Kapiti-based Urgent Community Care Pilot treating its 1000th patient.
The programme – the first in the country – was launched in May 2009 and patients are able to be treated by paramedics in their own home. Staff from Wellington Free Ambulance work alongside local doctor Chris Lane and Kapiti Emergency Service in delivering the service.
By last week nearly 1200 patients had been treated and of these approximately 65 per cent were treated at home. That’s a fantastic result because it means the number of patients admitted to Wellington Hospital has significantly reduced.
Initial results have been so positive the Minister of Health has invested another $200,000 to see the service extended to 24 hours, seven days a week from February this year.
As local MP people have been stopping me in the street to tell me how the paramedics responded quickly to their emergency call, treated and reassured them, and often saved a trip to Wellington Hospital.
This is a great tribute to the five paramedics who work in an unpredictable and often stressful environment. Their dedication to duty day and night is something we can all be proud of.
This is an important project for the Kapiti region because we have the largest population furtherest from a base hospital, the highest percentage of over 65’s in the country, a fast growing region and a congested state highway – until the four lane expressway is built from Wellington to Levin.
We should celebrate this pilot paramedic programme on the Kapiti Coast. It is delivering better health outcomes by providing a more convenient, responsive and cost effective health service for Kapiti locals.
Up the road in Foxton we also have good news with an extra fulltime paramedic working for St John as part of 100 recruited nationwide by the government.