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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 Heraldemma.russell@nzherald.co.nz
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.