Hato Hone St John is marking 140 years of service to Aotearoa New Zealand after one of its busiest years yet, supporting more than one million people and delivering faster, safer emergency care amid rising demand.

Chief executive Peter Bradley said there were 688,378 emergency calls for an ambulance in the past year, and more than half a million patients were treated or transported, a sharp rise over the past decade.

“Despite increasing demand, performance has improved, with 91% of 111 calls answered within 15 seconds and response times for the most critical incidents meeting or exceeding national targets,” Bradley said.

“Better co-ordination with hospitals and Health New Zealand has improved patient flow, while real-time monitoring, stronger clinical communications, and new escalation systems are getting ambulances to people faster.”

Half of all ambulance responses now involved people aged 65 or older, reflecting New Zealand’s growing and ageing population.

Health needs were becoming increasingly complex and meeting them required not only fast emergency response but also proactive, community-centred approaches.

Clinicians in the newly established Integrated Operations Centre and on the frontline were increasingly helping patients access care at home or in the community through initiatives such as “See and Treat” and “Hear and Advise”, avoiding unnecessary emergency department presentations.

These services complemented Hato Hone St John’s fully self-funded community health programmes, which provided education and training, health shuttle transport, Telecare and other vital support.

Last year, 96,730 people completed a first aid or mental health first aid course, 110,102 tamariki learned lifesaving skills through St John in Schools, and more than 35,000 New Zealanders learned CPR through the annual Shocktober campaign.

“These initiatives give people the knowledge, skills and confidence to act in a crisis, creating a ripple effect of safer, healthier and more resilient communities,” Bradley said.

Hato Hone St John was also named as one of New Zealand’s five most attractive employers this year.

“My huge thanks to our team for their hard work and dedication in ensuring New Zealanders receive the right care, at the right time and in the right place,” Bradley said.

“I also want to especially acknowledge the important work our more than 8000 volunteers do across all our services, and particularly the vital role they play in rural areas.”

While celebrating the successes of the last year, Hato Hone St John was looking ahead with its new 10-year strategy – Manaaki Ora – focused on delivering enhanced health and wellbeing for all, efficiently and safely.

Among its focus areas were improving cardiac arrest survival and enhancing falls prevention and response.

A key priority for the organisation was to establish a sustainable funding model for its emergency ambulance service.

The 2024/25 annual report was formally presented at an event at Parliament hosted by Associate Minister of Health Casey Costello.

The event featured a panel discussion on the future of health, drawing insights from deputy chief executive Dan Ohs, deputy clinical director Elena Garcia and Dr Will Reedy of Accenture on global trends shaping ambulance care.