St John & FENZ MoU proposed changes
FENZ and Hato Hone St John (HHSJ) have been working through an updated Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) since 2022.
We are advising members of the proposed changes to the MoU, which are pending FENZ’s approval. While this mainly affects first-response brigades, we are sharing these proposed changes with all members for your information.
The UFBA has an active representative in this working group and if you have any comments, please email connect@ufba.org.nz and we will share your views with our representative.
The key changes being proposed are:
- Changing of wording in Table 1 for Orange call response (refer to below document with exact revised wording)
- FENZ First Responder training will now meet the New Zealand Standard 8156:2019 and a process established for existing First Responders to gain this standard via a recognition of prior learning process
- Addition of helicopter landing zone requests into Table 1
- Wording around support response for non-medical assist, which is broken into three categories; urgent lift assistance, extrication, and establishment of a helicopter landing zone (Table 1)
- Review of the MoU will be undertaken formally every two years (currently annually) – the Medical Response Focus Group stakeholders will consider the performance of the MoU annually
- Notification process about issuing of Stab and Ballistic Resistant vests added
- Changes to the carriage of prescription medicine section including removal of the section allowing Paramedic and/or Intensive Care Paramedic modules on FENZ vehicles
- Addition of a new section on Reportable event notifications
- Addition of clause allowing FENZ to directly respond to a 111 call to FENZ Communications Centre reporting an unresponsive and non-breathing patient
- A two-yearly review of First Responder stations will be undertaken by FENZ and HHSJ, including any new stations (and general revision of this section)
- Some merging of sections of the document that duplicated topics
- Rewording throughout the document to tidy and clarify paragraphs and sections
- Wording added around primary functions, shared outcomes and principles guiding FENZ and HHSJ in relation to the MoU
- Changing of wording to several sections to reflect organisation and new titles and names (eg FENZ, Hato Hone St John (HHSJ), GMs, DMs)
Here is the full list of proposed changes: