WELLINGTON, May 21 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand government announced on Tuesday extra funding for road ambulance services to relieve financial pressure onto the service providers so that they can provide life-saving care to New Zealanders.

Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Health Minister Dr. David Clark announced the pre-budget funding plan of up to 40 million New Zealand dollars on Tuesday.

Speaking to media this morning, ambulance service provider St John chief executive Peter Bradley welcomed the news that the government commitment would be looking into its overall funding model.

There is a growing demand for ambulance services in New Zealand, including in rural areas. Ambulances now respond to over 550,000 emergency 111 calls a year, with more than 440,000 calls resulting in an ambulance being dispatched.

Currently the government funding makes up approximately 72 percent of the operating costs of ambulances in New Zealand. The remainder is funded largely through part charges and donations and the services will continue to rely on community generosity for these.

"That's why the government is investing 21 million dollars into our ambulance services over the next two years. This one-off funding will relieve immediate pressures and provide certainty for service providers such as St John and Wellington Free to secure the long-term sustainability of their services," Winston Peters said

Health Minister David Clark said the two-year package came on top of a 17.2 million dollars increase in operational funding (over four years) as part of Budget 2019. (1 New Zealand dollar equals 0.65 U.S. dollar)