St John Ambulance and Paradise Private Hospital have signed an agreement to ensure smoother transition of patients from ambulance to leading private hospitals.
Paradise Private Hospital Chief Executive officer, Dr Robin Sios, said: “We take the care of our patients seriously which is why we have faith in the quality and reliability of St John to respond to our patients and deliver them to the safety of our private hospital.
“We know that when a patient is seriously injured or in cardiac arrest, they will often need more than one ambulance to assist them. For example, CPR needs at least four ambulance officers to perform effectively in an urban environment. If CPR is delayed the patient won’t make the journey to hospital alive.
“We have confidence in St John’s network of ambulances across the city and the expertise and training that St John ambulance officers have. It’s also reassuring to know that St John has professional paramedics on call to provide rapid response to serious emergency medical situations.”
Chair of the National Council of St John, Jean Kekedo, said the agreement is about creating more options for patients and working collaboratively with the important private health system.
“You must know you can call St John and our ambulance teams will be able to take you to the most appropriate health facility or hospital, taking into special consideration your preference.”
Another benefit of this agreement is that patients will not have to pay an upfront ambulance fee when they arrive at Paradise private. The Hospital will include the ambulance fee in the total hospital bill.
Commissioner Matt Cannon said this new billing arrangement will mean less administration work for ambulance officers so that they can get back on the road quicker and be available to help.
St John has signed a similar agreement with Aspen medical and are in talks with the other leading private hospital and health care providers in Port Moresby to do the same.
The National Government has appointed St John to establish and manage the National Ambulance Service (NAS).
NAS is a network of ambulance across the country that will be tasked and monitored by St John to ensure an efficient response to emergencies and a coordinated movement of patients between health facilities and provincial hospitals.
The aim of the National Ambulance Service is to ensure that by 2030, any person in Papua New Guinea needing urgent medical help can get an ambulance by calling 111.
Partnering with private hospitals in Port Moresby is one of the first steps in achieving this new important objective.