More money is needed to keep ``vital'' Primary Response in Medical Emergencies (Prime) services going and a current review does not go far enough on funding, say rural medical centres that provide the service. Prime services are funded by the Ministry of Health and ACC, and administered by St John. ``Although accidents are well funded, the medical funding is poor, which makes the service difficult to justify financially. She said there was no ambulance in Middlemarch so she and one other Prime nurse, Steph Macaulay, were the community's response. ``Funding needs to be addressed, but it needs to take into account the difference between remote rural practices and rural practices that are 30 to 40 minutes from a city.

Source: Otago Daily Times April 21, 2017 18:45 UTC