Ambulance staff say they’re working 14-hour shifts, leading to dangerous levels of fatigue.
One frontline worker, who did not want to be named, said it’s only a matter of time before someone gets hurt.
"Staff at night, they’re just so tired, that sometimes you actually feel physically sick.
"I’ve been doing jobs where I’ve actually thought I was going to vomit."
"We’re responsible for driving an ambulance under lights, doing speeds of up to 130 km/h."
St John’s National Operations Manager James Stewart admitted that some staff are working longer hours due to an unusually high number of call-outs.
"All of our staff are at a huge amount of stress.
"We’re receiving 250 calls a day above what we expected [with modelling]," he said.
This has resulted in delayed response times, with one non-urgent patient waiting 14 hours to be transported to a hospital.
New Zealand Ambulance Association Secretary Mark Quin said that the sector is playing catch-up.
"A lot of our experienced officers are leaving to outside St John, not because of the money but better work conditions."
St John says they’re currently running a recruitment drive, but in the meantime, they are urging people with non-urgent issues to contact their GP first.
Health Minister Andrew Little says that in Budget 2022 the Government allocated an extra $166 million over four years to ease the pressure on ambulance services.
The money will fund 48 extra ambulances and 13 other vehicles, and 248 staff.
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