ST JOHN NT
NEWSROOM

St John NT is calling on all Territorians to stay calm and stay on the line when calling Triple Zero (000) for medical emergencies through a new community awareness campaign.

The campaign aims to educate the community on how to effectively make a Triple Zero (000) call.

Emergency Communication Centre Manager, Taleaha Dawson, explained that generally when someone is calling Triple Zero (000) they are experiencing one of the most stressful times of their lives. Added to that, the pressure of someone asking them a series of questions may not make complete sense at the time.

“We need the community to understand that answering our questions does not delay the ambulance. The quickest way for us to assist you is to remain calm and speak clearly, do not shout, and remain on the phone until the paramedics arrive or the call taker advises you to hang up. Be ready with your address and a call back number,” she said.

St John NT Emergency Medical Dispatchers (EMDs) are trained to ask a series of questions to determine the nature of the emergency to ensure the right level of care is provided.

“Our EMDs are trained to triage calls and provide life-saving instruction whilst waiting for an ambulance. Therefore, it is vital to assist them by answering their questions and following their instructions.”

In the last financial year, St John NT’s Emergency Communication Centre answered over 70,000 calls to the Triple Zero (000) service. Building awareness regarding the correct use of Triple Zero (000) is in the best interests of the safety and healthcare outcomes of the community.

St John NT also experiences a significant number of calls which are not for emergency situations.

“Not every call made to our call centre is for an emergency and may be managed through another health service. While every person who needs an ambulance will get one, sometimes calls that are not an emergency can put pressure on our emergency services,” Ms Dawson said.

The Triple Zero Stay Calm campaign will commence this week for the holiday season. The campaign features a very life like scenario of a person calling for assistance for a loved one, but getting frustrated because they feel the response isn’t quick enough.

“Please remember to stay calm and listen to the emergency medical dispatcher so we can get you the right help, to the right place, at the right time. Treat our call operators with respect – we are there to help.”

The 15 second video can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/WXJJiOmtJWA

For tips on how to call Triple Zero (000) visit: https://www.stjohnnt.org.au/ambulance/ambulance-services