Former St John paramedics now working in other parts of the organisation are being asked to jump back into ambulances to meet "exceptional" demand.
By Kate Green of RNZ
Hato Hone St John received 16,794 calls through 111 for the week ending August 23, another all-time high.
A new daily record of 2606 calls was set on Friday, August 14, compared with an average of 2061 a day last August.
Hato Hone St John director of ambulance operations Doug Gallagher said the sustained workload was having an impact.
"Our people have been working through exceptional demand for more than two weeks," he said.
"They continue to do an outstanding job, but repeated high-workload shifts, winter illness affecting our people and their dependants, and pressure across the health system are taking a toll."
Some staff who held ambulance or clinical qualifications – but were now working in education, leadership or other non-patient-facing roles – were stepping up to work in frontline operations, he said.
The organisation's major incident arrangements remained in place, providing national oversight of demand, ambulance availability, workforce capacity and patient-safety risks.
Some of the greatest pressure was in Auckland, he said, particularly during the evening and overnight.
Ambulance crews have been experiencing delays with handing over patients at hospital emergency departments, particularly in the largest cities including Auckland, Hamilton, Palmerston North and Christchurch.
Patients continued to be prioritised according to clinical need. However, during the most intense periods, some patients assessed as time-critical might wait longer than Hato Hone St John would want.
People should still call 111 when there was a threat to life, he said.
"Please do not delay calling in an emergency. If the patient's condition worsens after calling 111, call again and tell us what has changed.
"We also ask everyone to treat our call handlers, dispatchers, clinicians and ambulance crews with patience and respect. They are working incredibly hard to help patients and communities."
111 calls for an ambulance each day last week
- Monday, August 17: 2385
- Tuesday, August 18: 2511
- Wednesday, August 19: 2374
- Thursday, August 20: 2419
- Friday, August 21: 2368
- Saturday, August 22: 2383
- Sunday, August 23: 2354.
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