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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