Hato Hone St John Thanks NZ For Saving 111 For Emergencies

Hato Hone St John extends its gratitude to New Zealanders for reserving 111 calls for emergencies today and is reminding the public that ambulance capacity will be reduced by up to 30 percent at times throughout the day and into the evening. 

The second round of industrial action began at 4am today (24 August 2024) with about 250 union members withdrawing their labour for four hours at the start of their shift. 

Dan Ohs, Hato Hone St John Deputy Chief Executive Ambulance Operations, says the day has been challenging, but unions had worked closely with the service to ensure that Life Preserving Services were available nationwide. 

Hato Hone St John has robust plans in place to respond to emergencies during the strike, however demand has been up through the mid-morning and this has been challenging for the service, Mr Ohs says. 

“We did experience a surge in 111 earlier, with many of these calls relating to non-urgent conditions,” he says. 

“In many instances, we are assessing patients over the phone and either providing treatment advice or referring them to other health providers.” 

Mr Ohs notes that while the volume of non-urgent incidents increased mid-morning, the service was able to get to emergencies, and measures were in place to keep patients waiting for care safe. 

“We do not have any reports of patient adversity or complaints as a result of the strike today.” 

However, Mr Ohs emphasises there is no room for complacency as they approach the evening. 

“We anticipate high demand late this afternoon and into the evening. Saturday nights are typically busy for ambulance and other emergency services, and this weekend there are numerous events taking place across the country,” he says. 

“By all means in an emergency dial 111, however for less-urgent, clearly non-life-threatening cases we are asking the public to call Healthline or seek advice from their pharmacy in the first instance." 

For more information: https://www.stjohn.org.nz/news--info/action/
https://www.facebook.com/StJohnNewZealand/videos/455113007235182

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