St John Ambulance attends to 81 emergency incidents on New Year

On the eve of New Year celebrations last night, National St John Ambulance attended to 81 emergency incidents.

A total of eighteen ambulance crews were on duty last night in four provinces include National Capital District, Central Province, Morobe Province and Kokopo in East New Britain Province.

From 6:00 pm on New Year’s Eve to 6:00 am on New Year the Green Angels attended to 81 emergency incidents, providing critical care in situations ranging from motor vehicle accidents, respiratory issues, childbirth complications, gunshot wounds, snakebites and burns.

The ambulance call center were high alert last night while managing call and dispatch ambulances at designated locations.

Duty Operation Commander Officer, Johell Tewi said they were challenges encountered but they were able to manage.

"We cannot respond to all the cases at once when all the ambulances are out attending to other cases, we try our best to give information to the sick person that we will respond to you when an ambulance is available.

"So, our challenges are our resources, but they are manageable."Tewi said.

Meanwhile, Southern Regional Operations Commander Jethro Philemon has issued a call to action for local leaders to advocate for the safety of ambulances and emergency workers in their communities, emphasising the importance of protecting those who dedicate themselves to save lives.

"We are out on the road during the festivities to provide much-needed help to our general public.

"We are not there to harm them, we are not there to do other things, we are there to save our lives.

"Our general public need to at least, if we drive around, they saw us, they need to protect our staffs and the ambulances because tomorrow is another day, we will still come back to save you or your call," Philemon said.

He said in this festive season, they are confident with the manpower they have, and they will continue to perform their role effectively.