Hato Hone St John declares major incident as demand for ambulances spikes
New Zealand's ambulance service, Hato Hone St John, has declared a major incident following a record-breaking spike in emergency calls. The surge is attributed to a recent cold snap leading to an increase in respiratory illnesses and influenza.
Why it matters
The report highlights the strain on public health infrastructure during seasonal illness peaks and the impact of weather on emergency services.
A spike in winter illnesses is being blamed for Hato Hone St John recording its busiest single day on record.
The ambulance service has now activated its major incident response to cope with sustained high demand, which was expected to continue on Monday.
On Saturday, 2562 calls came into the ambulance service through 111 - the highest number received in a single day. A normal day would see around 1900 calls. There were 2079 calls to 111 for an ambulance by 5.45pm on Sunday.
As of 7.45pm on Sunday, the ambulance service had received 16,008 calls this week. That beat the previous record of 15,289 calls, set just a week earlier between 27 July and 2 August.
Before that, the busiest week on record had seen 14,984 calls. That record was set between 25 and 31 August in 2025.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in