Despite the need for Hato Hone St John assistance for a stabbing or gunshot wound being down 1.7% nationally, Otago and Southland recorded some of the highest increases in 2025 compared with the year before.
St John Southland-Otago district operations manager David Milne said ambulance assistance due to stabbing or gunshot wounds was up 69% in Southland — from 13 incidents in 2024 to 22 in 2025.
There was a 24% rise in Otago, where the numbers rose from 29 to 36 stabbing or gunshot incidents.
Paramedics responded to a total of 11,005 incidents in Southland and 24,982 incidents in the Otago region.
That was an 18% increase over the past five years in Otago and a 14% increase for Southland.
Both Otago and Southland had steep rises in the number of people needing assistance after heat or cold exposure.
In Southland, there was an 80% increase over 2024 and in Otago there was a 33% increase.
Nationally, there was only a 4% increase in heat or cold exposure.
Otago and Southland’s top reasons for ambulance callouts were the same and included referrals from a health practitioner, chest pain, falls, breathing problems and people feeling generally or medically unwell, Mr Milne said.
The same trends were present nationally and Hato Hone St John deputy chief executive of ambulance operations Dan Ohs said the situation reflected wider system pressures, an ageing population and rising acuity.
‘‘Demand on our emergency ambulance service has never been higher.’’
Nearly half of all ambulance responses involved people aged 65 and over, he said.
Falls were now one of the leading reasons for ambulance demand and disproportionately affected older people.
In Otago, falls rose almost 9% to 3375 incidents in 2025 compared with the year before.
‘‘Falls are not just accidents — they are a major and growing health issue,’’ Mr Ohs said.
Stroke emergencies in Southland rose significantly, climbing almost 14% to 458 incidents.
Higher-acuity cases continued to dominate ambulance demand — patients with serious, but not immediately life-threatening conditions accounted for 43% of incidents nationally.
Some of the largest increases in reasons for an ambulance callout from 2024 were drowning and diving incidents, which were up 32% nationally.
In Otago, there were 28 callouts, the same as in 2024. However, there was a 66.7% rise in Southland.
‘‘Despite significant changes to how we operate, the volume and complexity of cases continue to grow year on year,’’ Mr Ohs said.
He said 2025 had been St John’s busiest year on record and it had never had such high demand for services.
