A St John spokesperson said there were more ambulance incidents during July and August this year than last.
There were 710 ambulance incidents this July, a slight increase compared to 704 last year, August saw 773 incidents, up from 732.
In a press release, St John said the service experienced 50,000 ambulance incidents nationwide in August alone, the highest single month number in the organisation’s history.
Acting deputy chief executive ambulance operations Rosanne Shaw said winter always brought additional challenges, but this year the service saw unprecedented demand.
"We have seen a significant rise in respiratory-related emergencies.
"In the past year, ambulance crews responded to almost 6000 cases of breathing difficulties, up 33% on the 12-month average."
While ambulance demand had been soaring, St John had been helping to reduce pressure on hospitals’ emergency departments (ED), the spokesperson said.
Each day about 350 patients who would have gone to EDs are instead managed safely at home or referred to community health providers by paramedics on scene or remotely by a team of health professionals.
A key part of this effort had been the recent rollout of the government’s 24/7 online GP service, launched by Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora, which allowed patients to book an appointment with a health professional for care that was not serious or life threatening.
Deputy chief executive clinical care Dr Damian Tomic, said the initiative had already been proving its worth.
"It means patients get timely care that’s right for their needs, freeing up our ambulance crews to focus on the most urgent emergencies."
St John urged the public to continue using all health services wisely, calling 111 for emergencies and using healthline, the 24/7 online GP service for non-urgent issues and their local GP and pharmacy where possible, the spokesperson said.
