First responders could suffer at the hands of the government's ambulance funding scheme, according to a St John paramedic.

The government announced a $59.2 million plan yesterday that would see unqualified medical staff assisting paramedics to ensure that all ambulances are double-crewed.

Of the 400,000 111 emergency calls a year, just over 30,000 are from single-crewed ambulances mostly in rural areas, a practice which St John has admitted is unsafe.

But St John paramedic Alex McPherson says that putting untrained staff in the ambulance could put even more pressure on first responders because they can't help make critical decisions or treat patients.

LISTEN TO ALEX MCPHERSON'S FULL INTERVIEW WITH MIKE HOSKING ABOVE

"You're having to think not only for yourself but for someone else," McPherson said.

"It's actually more fatiguing and the critical issue is not that we haven't got enough people to drive an ambulance, it's that the work load is increasing."

Labour Party health spokesman David Clark has also been critical of the government's policy, point out that it’s a half measure.

The plans means essentially putting an extra person on board to carry the stretcher, or drive the ambulance, but not provide medical care.

"If you're unlucky enough to be in the second car in a car crash that's one hundred metres away, you may have to wait - still - to get treatment," Clark said.

In December last year, Newstalk ZB revealed the serious concerns of paramedics who said that patients were dying "on a regular basis" due to understaffing - claims St John denied.

St John workers went on strike earlier this year after collective agreement negotiations over pay increases, stress levels, and work hours broke down.