Sunday, January 15, 2017

Healthy Ambos Save Lives Campaign Team

Peter, unless we’re really lucky, we or our loved ones are going to need a St John Ambulance at some point in our lives - and when that time comes, we want to know that the ambulance officers who are looking out for us are being looked out for too.
Right now they’re not. They’re really not. They need changes at work - like having more than one crew member on duty, rest breaks so they don’t end up worn out and making mistakes, and recognition for the emotionally draining and dangerous job they do.
Instead, St John has told them they’ll have their pay docked by 10% just for wearing a T-shirt saying “Healthy ambos save lives”.1
St John relies on public donations to run their business. That means if enough of us tell them to do the right thing, they’ll have to listen.
Peter, will you join with thousands of other Kiwis who want ambulance officers to be healthy and safe, and sign the open letter to St John CEO Peter Bradley to tell him healthy ambos save lives?
SIGN THE OPEN LETTER
St John officers don’t have an easy job. Dozens get assaulted at work every month.2 They constantly deal with serious injuries and deaths. One of the first things St John needs to do is make sure officers aren’t doing this job alone.
This understaffing at St John puts the public at risk.3 It is common for St John staff to work over eight hours without a break, attending live or death situations, both frontline and in the control rooms. They need your help to get St John back to the table to talk solutions. Peter, will you show your support for this essential service and the people who provide it?
Thank you,

Jared Abbott
Healthy Ambos Save Lives Campaign team

[1] https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2017/01/st-john-strike-heats-up-as-workers-face-pay-deduction.html

[2] http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/84810247/Assaults-against-St-John-ambulance-workers-rising

[3] http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/health/st-john-walk-out-of-negotiations-union/