Mental health-related ambulance call-outs on the rise

By MiNDFOOD

Mental health-related ambulance call-outs on the rise
Calls to St John for mental health-related incidents increased by 10 per cent in 2019 in New Zealand, according to new statistics.

St John has released its emergency workload statistics for 2019, which showed the number of emergency ambulance responses continues to climb.

The increase in calls for mental health-related incidents is consistent with current trends globally and nationally.

In the last six months, St John responded to nearly 20,000 people in some form of mental health crisis.

The group with the largest increase was those aged 70-79.

The number of males calling for mental health reasons also increased, and they now make up 47 per cent of all mental health call-outs, up from 39 per cent in 2018.

According to St John’s statistics, every year the demand for ambulance services increases by approximately 4 per cent, with St John responding to more than 440,000 incidents in 2019.

That’s almost 18,000 more than in 2018.

Traumatic injuries also continue to rise, up 14 per cent from 2018 and 22 per cent from 2017, and people needing an emergency ambulance response for stroke-related incidents was up nearly 12 per cent on the previous year.

The top five reasons an ambulance was called were referrals by GPs, falls, breathing problems, chest pain and people unconscious or passing out.

St John provides emergency ambulance services to 90 per cent of New Zealanders and covers 97 per cent of the country’s geographical area.

The charitable organisation is currently in year three of a four-year programme to full crew all ambulances, with ambulances now fully crewed 97 per cent of the time and on track to be double crewed in 2021.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE

Print Recipe

BECOME A MiNDFOOD SUBSCRIBER TODAY

Let us keep you up to date with our weekly MiNDFOOD e-newsletters which include the weekly menu plan, health and news updates or tempt your taste buds with the MiNDFOOD Daily Recipe. 

Member Login