Hato Hone St John’s emergency ambulance service experienced a significantly reduced workload during the New Year’s Eve peak period compared with the same time last year, with poor weather likely contributing to fewer people being out and about.
Between 10.00pm (31 December 2025) and 3.00am (1 January 2026), ambulance crews responded to 177 incidents nationwide — a 40 percent decrease from the 246 callouts attended during the same period the previous year.
Overall, the workload overnight was comparable to that of an average Saturday night. However, certain regions experienced higher-than-usual demand due to population increases over the festive period. Incidents were spread across the country, with the Western Bay of Plenty and Auckland recording the highest volume of callouts.
To support the response, 156 frontline ambulances, 22 rapid response units, and 20 operations managers were actively deployed. They were supported by a network of on-call paid and volunteer personnel nationwide, along with staff in Hato Hone St John’s Integrated Operations Centres in Auckland and Christchurch.
Almost half of all callouts involved high-acuity patients — those with conditions that appeared immediately life-threatening.
There was no significant change in the types of emergencies responded to. The most common reasons for ambulance callouts remained medical complaints and falls.
Ambulance crews responded to almost a dozen incidents related to overdose or poisoning, and alcohol was a contributing factor in many other callouts.
Hato Hone St John is disappointed at the level of violence and aggression experienced by our ambulance staff. Notably, last night, one of our central Auckland crews was significantly abused by a person we had been called to help. That is not okay. We do not tolerate violence or abuse of any kind towards our people. If they feel threatened, we empower them to leave the scene. We want to remind everyone to please respect our ambulance staff; they are there to help.
Please attribute to Dan Ohs, Hato Hone St John Deputy Chief Executive – Ambulance Operations