Wellington Free AmbulanceThursday 24 March 2011, 5:02PM
Media release from Wellington Free Ambulance
The Right Honourable John Key, Prime Minister of New Zealand,
today opened the country's newest ambulance station, The Odlin
Trust Regional Ambulance Station, operated by Wellington Free
Ambulance.
The new regional station is adjacent to the Emergency Department at
Wellington Hospital, and will allow Wellington Free Ambulance to
reduce response times for patient call outs and provide a better
patient experience.
Wellington Free Ambulance chief executive, Alan O'Beirne, said the
state-of-the-art facility will be home to a fleet of five frontline
emergency and patient transfer ambulances.
"At Wellington Free Ambulance we are always searching for ways to
improve the quality of the services we provide without compromising
our commitment to retaining our position as New Zealand's only
free-to-patient ambulance service. We now have a purpose-built,
state-of-the-art facility that will showcase our investment in the
Wellington community.
"Our new ambulance station supports our culture of innovation and
effective change to improve the services we deliver to our
patients. We are extremely thankful for the generous and unwavering
support shown by The Odlin Trust and our community sponsors."
Mr O'Beirne says close proximity to the hospital Emergency
Department will help reduce ambulance turnaround times due to the
facility's improved layout. In addition, increased interaction
between Wellington Free Ambulance paramedics and hospital staff
will mean more efficient handovers of patients.
The current Newtown ambulance station is also in a "slow zone",
complete with speed control measures. Ambulances operating from
this station have to reduce their speed accordingly.
NOTE: The station is officially named The Odlin Trust Regional
Ambulance Station, in recognition of the long-standing support the
donors have provided to WFA has received over the years.
The Odlin Trust has donated 28 frontline ambulances to Wellington
Free Ambulance over a period of 59 years. The first ambulance was
donated by the Trust in 1952.