Firefighters, police and government officials are being sent to help St John WA.

WA’s ambulance service is trying to cope with huge staff shortages due to COVID-19. The WA Government has announced it will embed senior police and health department officials in the ambulance service, while 48 firefighters are trained in operating ambulances and working with paramedics. 

St John CEO Michelle Fyfe says the extra staffing is “not a silver” bullet to solve the service’s problems.

Premier Mark McGowan says two senior WA Police officers and two Health Department officers, including a senior doctor, have already begun work at St John's headquarters.

He also says that the new staff seconded to St John will make sure it takes needed measures, such as activating a COVID-19 plan to have firefighters drive ambulances.

“They are specifically being tasked by the government to access more resources across government and activate the COVID plan that was put in place with St John in 2020,” he said.

“That will be their role, to work in conjunction with the management of St John, to access additional resources and fix some of the issues that have caused some of these problems.

“They had the COVID plan available, they didn't request the assistance.

“What we are now going to do is make sure we have personnel there who can work with St John senior management to get additional resources in when they need it.”