Inside a St John 111 call centre: Twenty seconds between 'brutal', sometimes deadly calls 30 Dec, 2020 10:35 PM 10 minutes to read Emma Russell is a health reporter for the New Zealand [email protected] Natalyha Surgison, a 22-year-old St John call handler, will never forget the image of a child finding a loved one who had taken their own life. Photo / Michael Craig As ambulance crews hit one of their busiest times of year reaching up to 1650 callouts nationwide a day, health reporter Emma Russell spends a morning inside a St John 111 call centre. Twenty seconds. That's all a 111 St John call handler can have between listening to a woman set herself on fire and helping a new mum deliver a baby over the phone.