St John Clinical Hub is now going nationwide

The St John 111 Clinical Hub has gone nationwide, helping triage emergency 111 calls to make sure callers receive the most appropriate advice and treatment, and to help ensure that those in the most urgent need receive an appropriately urgent response.

The most important thing people could do this winter was be immunised against influenza and seek advice from a health professional if they became unwell, St John medical director Dr Tony Smith said.

The surge in 111 ambulance calls continued to rise every winter, he said, despite St John’s best efforts to triage and treat people at home, bringing a lot of pressure to bear on the ambulance service and hospital emergency departments.

St John had five key messages for the remainder of winter:

1 CHOOSE WELL: Immunise against flu, treat minor symptoms at home. 2 SEEK HELP: If symptoms persist, call your doctor, Healthline (0800 611-116) or visit your pharmacy or health professional early for advice.

3 PREPARE: If you have a medical condition such as asthma or COPD, or something where symptoms exacerbate during the colder months, keep on top of your routine medication.

4 SELF-CARE: Common colds, coughs, sore throats can usually be very well managed at home with the assistance of your local pharmacy

5 IN AN EMERGENCY: Call 111, and St John will find the most appropriate help through a clinical assessment. This may not be an ambulance or transport to an emergency department, but you will get the right care, at the right time.

The latest flu season had been catastrophic internationally, particularly in Europe and the UK, Dr Smith said, and St John had taken measures to ensure the ambulance service was well prepared.

“We have done thorough data analysis, showing where the peaks and troughs, hot spots and demand surges are, so we can appropriately allocate extra resource, be it more ambulances or more rostered ambulance officers,” he said.

“We are asking the public to also play their part by engaging with their GPs and pharmacies early, and follow our Choose Well advice.”