Ambulance Fees
Around 12,000+ patients receive free emergency ambulance services from St John, supported by the PNG Government.
St John provides the only public emergency ambulance service in Papua New Guinea, but it is only partially funded by the government.
The average trip to hospital costs St John about K800, but around 90% of ambulance patients don’t pay any fee for the service.
Ambulance services are free to Papua New Guineas requiring emergency life-saving care at a public hospital. Fees apply to visitors to Papua New Guinea, persons requesting transport to a private hospital, or persons seeking medically non-urgent transport to or from a public health facility.
St John needs to fundraise some PGK 2.5m each year to keep emergency services free and reliable for the sick, injured, poor and needy.
Do I need to pay for an ambulance?
There is no cost to use St John for PNG Citizens being transported to a public hospital in the following emergency situations:
- a life-threatening emergency
- a pregnancy related complication or a woman in labour
- a victim of violence
- a person injured in a serious accident
- a child under five years old suffering a serious illness
- a snakebite victim
St John is not-for-profit emergency medical service, supported by government funding, social enterprise, community donations, and corporate sponsorships. As a not-for-profit organisation, all money we raise goes back into caring for the community: improving our services, purchasing new equipment and ambulances, training our staff and keeping ambulances fueled and maintained, ready to attend the next emergency.
St John Ambulance is FREE for all public patients needing emergency care and transport to a public emergency department or public health facility.
| Service | Nationality | Transport Destination | Callout Fee | KM Fee | Category | Payment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emergency | PNG/ Resident | Public Hospital | FREE | NIL | ES0, S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6 | No Payment Required - Give letter to patient about free services. |
| Non-Emergency | PNG/ Resident | Public hospital - Patient request transport for very mild problem, e.g., stubbed toe | FREE | NIL | ES1 | No Payment Required - Give letter to patient about free services. |
| Non-Emergency | PNG/ Resident | Patient declines transport after getting first aid treatment from SJA | FREE | NIL | ES2 | No Payment Required - Give letter to patient about free services. |
| Emergency | PNG/ Resident | Private Hospital | PGK 300 | 4/KM | PVT01 | Give invoice to patient/ carer Ask to pay at SJA HQ |
| Booking or Referral Case | PNG/ Resident | Private Hospital | PGK 500 | 10/KM | PVT02 | Pay by EFTPOS at hospital |
| All Services | Expatriate | Any health facility | PGK 1,850 | 10/KM | EXP01 | Pay by EFTPOS at hospital |
| PHA Referral between PHA Facilities | N/A | Transport patient for a Partner PHA | PGK 50 | 4/KM | PHA01 | Patient does not pay, PHA to be invoiced monthly for all SPT1 incidents. |
| Referral/ Discharge | N/A | Public hospital, private referral (e.g., airport pickup to hospital) | PGK 250 | 10/KM | REF01 | Client must PAY BEFORE service given |
| Mortuary | N/A | Mortuary | PGK 750 | 14/KM | MOR1 | Client must PAY BEFORE service given |