Wellington Free Ambulance - Healthcare Outlook - issue 2

The name says it all, we are the only FREE to the patient ambulance service in Australasia.”

This instantly distinguishable statement is the main factor differentiating Wellington Free Ambulance (WFA) from other service providers.

After a varied career working across a number of industries such as retail, Sarah Lewis, Executive Director of Corporate Services at the company, took stock on how she could really make a difference in the world.

“I had always been lucky enough to work for a household name and WFA, the iconic ambulance service, fitted the bill on making a difference in communities and being well loved in its region,” she explains.

Lewis details how the past five years in particular have been incredibly rewarding, and an exciting space to be working in – both at WFA, and from a wider perspective within the industry in New Zealand as a whole.

NEW ZEALAND’S AMBULANCES DRIVING TO SUCCESS

“As an organisation we have been exploring ways that we can better serve our communities with the limited funds available. Where possible, we have looked to improve processes and automate and create partnership approaches with the backdrop of improving the health, safety and wellbeing of our paramedics as well as

serving our core purpose to provide free paramedic care to the greater Wellington region.”

The process of doing what this service does for less, began to accelerate exponentially as WFA moved into 2020 and plummeted into the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, confronting a whole host of new challenges.

FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

In terms of its origin story, WFA was founded in 1927 by the mayor of the day, Sir Charles Norwood, who believed in a place where emergencies needn’t cost lives or money and dreamed of a future where his city had access to free ambulance services for everyone.

HELPING ALL NEW ZEALANDERS

LIVE HEALTHIER LIVES

THROUGH THE POWER OF TECHNOLOGY

Now, nearly 95 years on and this utopian vision has become a reality. WFA’s vastly impressive 24/7 emergency services now cover the Greater Wellington region including the Kapiti Coast and the Wairarapa.

Working out priorities is a key element of WFA’s efficient dispatch process. The 111-call taker identifies a patient’s condition using a medical priority dispatch system. This system is used internationally and is the clinically proven way of getting the right help, to the correct people, in the best possible time.

“The organisation has grown considerably since 1927, and we now have around 400 staff who are supported by 80 volunteer event medics…

“We have nine ambulance stations, and answer over 150,000 emergency 111 calls a year. We have 31 emergency ambulances, two emergency community care vehicles, three Rescue Squad vehicles and 24 Patient Transfer vehicles!” Lewis adds proudly.

Meanwhile, the clinical operations team is dedicated to ensuring that all operatives work to the highest level of medical practice.

WFA faces financial challenges just like any other business, as Lewis tells us. “Although we receive funding from both the government and the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC), we must raise $7 million every year to meet demand and fund the shortfall between what we receive and what our operational model costs.

“We are extremely lucky to have such an amazingly supportive community with generous people and businesses who believe in our work,” she adds.

In terms of its COVID-19 response, WFA continues to adapt to overcome every new challenge presented by the pandemic.

“Our paramedics and our wider support staff are key to providing

“WE ARE EXTREMELY LUCKY TO HAVE SUCH AN AMAZINGLY SUPPORTIVE COMMUNITY WITH GENEROUS PEOPLE AND BUSINESSES WHO BELIEVE IN OUR WORK”

– SARAH LEWIS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR CORPORATE SERVICES, WFA

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Digital Health for all New Zealanders

Improving our nation’s digital equity levels are one of the group’s three sustainability focus areas which is also core to delivering better, more equitable health care to all New Zealanders. The Spark Foundation, established to allocate funding for programmes focused on digital equity, has worked with Crown Infrastructure Partners, Te Puni Kokiri and other

providers to to bring broadband and technology capabilities to marae to provide reliable digital connetivity, provide pathways to digital health, economic, social and educational services.

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the best care to the patient,” Lewis continues. “During this period, we reimagined how our support services function could make life easier for our frontline paramedics in the thick of escalating demand.”

This clearly highlights the company’s commendable focus on staff welfare and support. WFA additionally rolled out several initiatives and continues to evolve these as the virus mutates.

LOOKING AHEAD

In terms of future investments and exciting upcoming projects, WFA has invested in state-of-the-art lifesaving equipment such as the Corpuls defibrillator. Alongside this, it has progressed in the last five years to using electric stretchers. WFA is the first service in New Zealand to transition to this front-line technology that has seen the equipment that paramedics carry reduce from circa 16.6 kilogrammes (kg) per patient to 6.5kg.

WFA INITIATIVES DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

“We have moved to personal issue devices for our paramedics in the form of cellular devices that allow us to connect across our corporate network with access to the internal documentation that is required to keep up to the minute in the rapidly evolving environment,” Lewis says. When asked specifically about the company’s supply chain operations, Lewis told us, “working in partnership with our suppliers is key to us. For example, through our relationships in March 2020, we were able to access critical PPE when others were unable. The supplier went above and beyond to their networks in China to secure supply chain when everything else was shutting down, and fast tracked everything through the shipping network.”

Other suppliers often prioritise WFA ahead of alternative commercial and government contracts because of the good work that it does in the community and the relationships that it has built.

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• Centralised general stores to allow for quicker turnaround and to manage supply chain issues.

• Moved to seven days a week restock and replenishment at the stations.

• Providing ‘station mums’ at its largest stations to allow the paramedics to focus on what they could do best, clinical care, taking away the on-station duties so any much-needed time back at base could be spent recharging themselves.

• Providing a hot meal to all staff for at least every shift, when the lockdown was at its most disruptive to the hospitality sector and no takeaway or even coffee services were available.

• Providing a coffee cart to those based out of HQ who experienced long hours.

• Created a welfare officer role specifically to check in with its staff.

• Conducted regular surveys to allow WFA to understand how its staff were feeling and enable the company to adjust its response, resulting in getting the greatest response rate to a survey that it had ever seen.

• Shifted to a temporary station in one of its communities to allow staff to rest and rejuvenate between jobs.

“Switching to the hybrid model is something WFA is tirelessly working towards. Communications is obviously key to making this happen smoothly and making sure that we celebrate success. Whether that be through award programmes (women in leadership or staff awards), offering extra hours off for those that go above and beyond, or just a simple thank you either at a team meeting or through the weekly CE’s bulletin,” Lewis affirms.

“This is a prime example of how WFA tries to empower its tireless workforce and recognises the invaluable contributions that its staff

make as a key component of running this thriving enterprise.”

As far as looking ahead to the future goes, the clock is ticking to move into a new, fit for purpose facility for all regional paramedics.

“WFA is once again looking to partner up with a provider whose business is property and therefore play to their strengths when our focus is around health care delivery,” she explains.

WFA’s other major priorities for 2022 are constructed around its people, improving wellbeing, health and safety, and a push towards further developing and nurturing leadership skills. This is alongside an

ongoing attempt to secure additional government funding to support the company’s free to the patient status. Another ongoing challenge to be managed carefully is the strategising needed to continue to adapt to the COVID-19 response, that for New Zealand has now shifted to a COVID19 in the community strategy where previously the nation was working to a ‘stamp it out’ approach.

The future looks extremely bright and prosperous for WFA, as it continues to provide such a valuable service to Wellington’s citizens.

“WFA TRIES TO EMPOWER ITS TIRELESS WORKFORCE AND RECOGNISES THE INVALUABLE CONTRIBUTIONS THAT ITS STAFF MAKE AS A KEY COMPONENT OF RUNNING THIS THRIVING ENTERPRISE”

– SARAH LEWIS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR CORPORATE SERVICES, WFA