The new, specially designed harnesses that help to keep premature and newborn babies secure while travelling are being introduced to Auckland ambulances this month.

A trial of the S.K.I.P (securing kids in properly) harness has already won favour with parents, hospital staff and ambulance officers.

St John has worked pro-actively with the Auckland hospitals to design and implement the harness. The versatile leather harness can be secured onto a standard patient stretcher or baby cot and adjusted for babies from 1.5kg up to 5kg.

A $13,000 grant by the Kelliher Charitable Trust is funding some of the harness installations to ambulances.

Chrissy Rose, Patient Transport Services Manager for St John Northern Region, says “It is important that our smallest passengers can be safe during transit and the harness, thanks to the generosity of the Kelliher Charitable Trust, will ensure that we can do this.”

St John intends to seek additional funding to help fit a S.K.I.P. harness in every ambulance in Auckland over the next 12 months .