Ambulance fee on the rise
The fee for using a St John ambulance will go up from the start of April.
St John charges fees of $65 in Northland, Taranaki, Manawatu and Whanganui and $80 in the rest of the country.
North Island and the South Island. These will increase to $75 and $84 respectively.
If you have been injured accidentally in the previous 24 hours, the fee is covered by ACC.
The charge will rise again from April 2014 to $88 for all areas.
St John says it is increasing the fees, which are a part of the total cost of the call-out, because of an increase in demand for services.
In the year ending 30 June 2012, the number of incidents it attended went up 4.2 per cent, with more than 14,000 call-outs compared to the previous year.
Government funding covers about 80 per cent of St John's running costs.
The charity makes up the rest from the fees, donations, revenue from our commercial activities and the contribution of volunteers.
St John has 5000 members and about 63 per cent of those are volunteers.
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