Hato Hone St John activates major incident response after record call volume

Sunday 9 August 2026 · 6 outlets · 5 reports · updated Sun 9 Aug, 4:44pm

Hato Hone St John activated its Emergency Operations Centre after receiving a record 2,562 emergency calls on Saturday. This follows a week of sustained high demand, with the daily record being broken three times. Te Whatu Ora stated there was no immediate evidence that emergency departments have been affected.

How they headlined it

3:03pm4:44pm

1. StuffSun 9 Aug, 3:03pm

   A call every 20 seconds: St John activates Emergency Operations Centre after busiest day in history (opens in new tab)

2. NZ HeraldSun 9 Aug, 3:06pm

   Watch live: St John Ambulance to hold press conference after record volume of 111 calls (opens in new tab)

3. 1NewsSun 9 Aug, 3:20pm

   St John activates major incident response after record number of 111 calls (opens in new tab)

   • St John records busiest day on record, ‘no immediate evidence' EDs affected (opens in new tab) Sun 9 Aug, 3:20pm
4. The Post via RNZSun 9 Aug, 4:44pm

   Hato Hone St John declares major incident as demand for ambulances spikes (opens in new tab)

   Also on Waikato Times (opens in new tab), The Press (opens in new tab)