Wellington Free Ambulance The geographical location of Wainuiomata often meant that access to ambulance services were more than 10 minutes away. In 1996 a pilot program called the "Medical Co-responder Program" was launched in the Wellington Fire District. The basis of the scheme was to provide help to a patient as soon as possible. Fire fighters from each brigade in the district were selected to attended a one week training course. This course contained comprehensive training, which would enable them to treat any number of emergencies. Everything from rescue breathing (CPR) to Motor Vehicle Accidents (MVA). The scheme worked on Wellington Free Ambulance (WFA) being requested. If WFA was unable to reach the scene within 8 minutes, or the call was of a serious nature such as a cardiac arrest, WFA would request the nearest fire appliance to respond to the call until they could arrive. This scheme ran for 3 years and finished on July 1 1999. The nearest ambulance service to Wainuiomata is in Lower Hutt, some 10kms away. During the Medical Co-Responder pilot, it was not unusual for the Wainuiomata Volunteer Fire Brigade to attend 3-6 calls per day. With those sorts of call numbers WFA resources were stretched and it was not unheard of for the ambulance to respond from either Wellington City or Upper Hutt City, 30 minutes away. A number of lives have been saved and is a credit to the Co-Responder program in Wainuiomata. Towards the end of the pilot, WFA decided sufficient demands on its services warranted the placement of a permanent Ambulance Service in Wainuiomata. During April 1999, following discussion between WFA and The Wainuiomata Volunteer Fire Brigade, WFA placed an Ambulance at Wainuiomata fire station. With funding from many Wainuiomata community groups, Wainuiomata Station now boasts a new room for the WFA staff. Wainuiomata Fire Brigade is proud of the relationships formed between the two services and welcome the WFA to the station. The Co-operation shown is heart warming and just goes to show that Co-existence between the two services can be achieved. On occasion Fire service personnel may ride with the ambulance to calls and WFA take part in WVFB training evenings. With each service learning what each other do, the benefits to the community of Wainuiomata have been considerably increased. The two staff from Wellington Free Ambulance that are based at Wainuiomata Fie Station are: Paramedic Colin Hamilton Paramedic Gary James. ^ top

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