Record demand for ambulances has led St John to urge the public to only call 111 in genuine medical emergencies.
Last week, the service received 1,300 more 111 calls (an 11 per cent increase) and 700 more ambulance responses (a seven per cent increase) than expected for this time of year.
St John Ambulance operations deputy chief executive Dan Ohs says the increase in demand is impacting 111 communications centres.
“Callers to our 111 communications centres may experience a delay before their call is answered, and we may not be able to send an ambulance immediately – so we ask the public to only call 111 for genuine emergencies.”
St John set up an Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) yesterday to coordinate ambulance resources at a national level, ensuring resources are moved to where the need is the highest, Ohs said.
“We are working with our health partners to ensure that we can effectively manage demand on the ambulance service and respond immediately to critical patients. We have already increased ambulance resourcing in our main centres and are supporting our communications centres with additional capacity.”
An ECO would usually only be activated during a major emergency like an earthquake. Ohs says the ECO has been opened up because of the profound demand from the public for ambulance services.
“This represents a significant level of concern within St John.”
Ohs says St John is asking New Zealanders to help them out, calling 111 only when it’s a genuine emergency. “We need people to call their GP or Healthline for general health advice.”
“People need to be mindful that if their condition is not immediately life-threatening, there may be a significant delay in responding to an ambulance.”
Ohs says St John would also like to remind people of the importance of self-care over winter, ensuring they take regular medications, and keep on top of illness before it exacerbates.
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