Emergency ambulance help remains available. However, during the busiest periods, particularly in Auckland during the evening and overnight, some patients will wait longer than we would want.
Call 111 for a serious illness or injury
Call 111 immediately if someone:
- has chest pain
- has severe difficulty breathing
- has signs of a stroke, for example a drooping face on one side, a weak arm on one side weak or difficulty talking.
- is unresponsive
- is bleeding severely
- is seriously injured
Please do not delay calling 111 because you have heard ambulance services are busy.
If you are waiting for an ambulance
Patients are prioritised based on how urgently help is needed.
Incidents awaiting a response are reviewed, and their priority can change when new information becomes available.
If the patient’s condition worsens after you have called 111, call again and tell us what has changed.
Keep the phone number you provided switched on, nearby, available and not on silent . A call handler or clinician may need to contact you.
You may receive a different care response
Not every person who calls 111 requires an ambulance, and not every ambulance attendance results in transport to an emergency department.
Depending on the patient’s needs, they may:
- receive an emergency ambulance response
- speak with a clinician for further assessment
- receive clinical advice
- be referred to another healthcare provider
- be assessed and treated safely at home
- be helped to access another appropriate healthcare service
These decisions are made by clinicians and based on the individual patient’s condition and needs.
what happens when you call 111
Not an emergency?
Seek advice early and check which healthcare services are available locally.
Options may include:
- Healthline on 0800 611 116
- your GP or an online GP service
- an urgent-care clinic
- a pharmacy
Opening hours, availability, waiting times and costs vary, so check before travelling.
Why an ambulance may take longer
High demand is one part of the picture. Ambulance availability can also be affected by staff sickness, travel distances, lengthy or complex incidents and delays transferring patients into hospital care.
Hospital handover delays do not cause people to call 111, but they can keep ambulance crews committed for longer and reduce the number of ambulances available in the community.
We are working closely with Health New Zealand and hospital teams to support patient flow and return ambulance crews to their communities as soon as it is clinically safe to do so.
We are doing everything we can
We are taking additional action to maintain a safe response and support our people.
This includes:
- drawing on qualified staff from across Hato Hone St John
- providing additional support to the call centre.
- working with hospitals staff to support timely patient handovers
Our call handlers, dispatchers, clinicians, ambulance crews and operational leaders have been working incredibly hard for several weeks.
Please treat our people with patience, kindness and respect.