Catherine Khan, 22, Ponsonby, Auckland

Catherine Khan has had to sharpen her negotiation skills since the Covid-19 lockdown.

Increasingly she has to grapple with conflicting impulses in the dozens of Aucklanders she responds to weekly. People are more afraid of hospitals than the trauma or illness that made them dial 111 in the first place.

The 22-year-old Ponsonby resident says arriving to call-outs in full protective face masks and gowns is an added hurdle to calming patients.

“We’re being positive, we want the public to trust us regardless of the fact we might look a little bit different because it’s already an anxious time for people,” Khan said.

“I went to see an elderly person on a night shift who medically was indicated to go to hospital, and we had made that recommendation, but she was very reluctant to do so.

“I know in normal circumstances they wouldn’t have had a problem with going and they did express concerns because of the [Covid-19] situation.

“That’s quite challenging. It’s a very new thing. Because we have to have those conversations around: ‘Yes, there’s a threat. You may not want to go into hospital because of the circumstances, but medically, we still have to do what’s best for you’.”

The challenges don’t stop at the end of

Khan’s shift either — she is isolated from her family.

“Before the isolation and the lockdown period occurred, I did say goodbye to a lot of my family members who I probably wouldn’t see for a relatively long time.

“I said goodbye to my Mum, my grandparents, my siblings, simply because some of them are immunocompromised, they’ve got other problems with their health and I don’t want to be exposing them to those things.

“So it’s hard. I don’t really know when I’ll be able to see them again. It does take a toll.”

But the public’s support had helped. “In general, we’ve had a massive outpouring of support . . . People have offered us food, encouraging words, people are offering to volunteer, messages on my morning coffee cup.”