Photo: St John
An ambulance worker says stab-proof vests, which are meant to be available to staff responding to mental health callouts, are not available at all stations.
Police are set to pull back from attending mental health callouts from November, meaning ambulance workers will not have their support.
The Ambulance Association is warning someone could be killed if stab-proof vests are not made more available.
The ambulance worker, who cannot be identified because their contract prevents them speaking to media, works at a rural station in Tākaka.
Stab proof vests not available at all ambulance stations - worker
He said his station had training on how to use stab-proof vests about three weeks ago,
He said the vests were brought over from Nelson, then taken back at the end of the training.
"What this means in essence is that if we're in a situation where we need stab-proof vests, we've got to wait two hours for someone from Nelson to bring them over to Golden Bay, which kind of defeats the purpose - and I'm sure this is typical of all the rural stations."
He said rural stations like his already responded to mental health callouts without police, due to resourcing.
Ambulance Association secretary Mark Quinn told Morning Report that it was a huge concern that ambulance staff did not have the same physical protections as police did - and that stab-proof vests were sometimes hours away.
"Staff need to have access to these vests."
St John general manager ambulance operations - integrated operations centre Doug Gallagher told Midday Report there were around 600 vests currently for more than 2000 staff, that were handed out when they heard a weapon was involved.
"While we aspire to make stab-proof vests more readily available, particularly in rural areas, we believe that wearing these vests should be viewed as a last line of defence for our staff."
He said St John did not want staff to be in the unsafe situation in the first place.
"But we do have [the vests] there so that they can be used once police are on scene."
First Union national ambulance coordinator Faye McCann said ambulance workers should not be put in situations where they needed a stab-proof vest.
"If there's an indication that someone should be wearing a stab proof vest, then that's a big enough indication to say that 'this isn't for you to go, and you need to wait for police'."
Police Minister Mark Mitchell said he was aware ambulance staff, along with other first responders, were experiencing more violence and abuse than ever before.
He told Morning Report he understood paramedics, ambulance drivers and firefighters were all now experiencing the sorts of abuse that would normally just be directed at police.
But he said it was not for him to comment on whether stab-proof vests should or could be issued to all ambulance workers.
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