By Lillian Sopera Keneqa – EMTV News, Port Moresby
St John Ambulance and Paradise Private Hospital have signed an agreement to ensure a smooth transition of patients from the ambulance to leading private hospitals. National Council of St John Chairman, Jean Kekedo, said “The agreement is about creating more options for patients and working collaboratively with the important private health system.”
Paradise Private Hospital CEO, 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.”
He added, “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.”
Another benefit to the agreement is that patients would not have to pay an upfront ambulance fee.
Commissioner, Matt Cannon said, “This new billing arrangement will mean less administration work for ambulance officers so they can get back on the road quicker and be available to help.”
The ambulance fee will be included in the total hospital bill given by PPH.
St John has signed a similar agreement with Aspen Medical and is currently in conversation with other leading private hospitals and health care providers in Port Moresby for a similar agreement.
